


Love is not Soft and Fluffy

by Doevademe (OriginalDaemon)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aphrodite is a Jerk, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nico is confused, Pining Percy, Reversal of the usual Percico dynamic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:24:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 45,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OriginalDaemon/pseuds/Doevademe
Summary: Percy should have been used by then to be a plaything of the gods, but it didn’t make this situation hurt any less."I… I don't know, Percy," was Nico's only answer. It still hit him like an arrow to the heart.In which Percy falls in love with his biggest regret, and Nico struggles to forgive his sister's executioner.





	1. Prelude: Aphrodite Plants the Seeds

**Author's Note:**

> The "love reversal" story of sorts I have always wanted, where Percy is the one pining for Nico and Nico is not sure what to make of Percy or his intentions.
> 
> This story is somewhat unique for me in that it's the first one I don't have any idea where I'm going. I just know the beginning and the end point, so this is a nice writing experiment. You should be aware, at this point, only the first three chapters (until TLO) are completely mapped out, so those will come out relatively quickly, after that, we'll see (but it would help a ton if people showed interest in this)

Some advice for demigods: Never listen to Aphrodite. Ever.

It doesn’t matter if it’s about battles or romance, if she ever gives advice it almost never means she wants to help you. What she truly wants is an interesting love story she can be invested in. And even then, following her advice to the letter does not assure you’ll get together with the person you like, but that you’ll suffer for that person until you either succeed or tragedy strikes.

Percy Jackson, sadly, had to choose Aphrodite as the one goddess He’d listen to.

“Annabeth’s father?” He asked confused as he sat on the back of her limo. The love goddess had just appeared on the middle of their quest to find Artemis and Annabeth and had asked Percy to speak with her.

“You need him if you intend to save Artemis and your friend,” she said with her musical voice. Her ever-changing hair and eyes seemed to settle for dark colors as she kept speaking. “The fastest route there requires you to go through my husband’s junkyard, but I’m sure it’s nothing a few demigods and huntresses can’t overcome.”

Percy honestly hadn’t expected a god to be so… direct and helpful. Her hipnotizing dark brown eyes and black hair that gave off that strong, unique aroma he was sure he had smelled not too long ago made him dizzy. He found himself smiling and nodding along.

“Don’t forget, Artemis is your priority.” Those beautiful eyes were full of mirth, but Percy was too drunk off her presence to really place why. “Saving Annabeth is important, of course, but we all want to make sure Luke and the Titans don't win this war, right?”

Percy agreed, and felt proud when Aphrodite smiled and praised him. He didn’t even care that Ares was right beside him when he got off the car, he was just happy to find a god that was so firmly on his side.

* * *

Zoe was dead, Bianca was dead, Annabeth had barely survived and Thalia had chosen to join the Hunt.

This was all Percy’s fault. He had been too centered on the mission, too desperate to do as Aphrodite had said, and because of that, they had lost Bianca to the Talos Automaton in Hephaestus's Junkyard.

It didn’t matter if Annabeth or Thalia tried to tell him otherwise. If only he had been more careful, he would have noticed Bianca taking that figurine from the pile, he would have caught on to the fact that Zoe was the one the prophecy talked about, or that Annabeth truly couldn’t hold up the sky as long as she had done.

This was all Percy’s fault, and it was his responsibility, part of his punishment, to break the news to Bianca’s brother.

“Hey, where’s my sister?” Nico inquired. Percy noticed his smile was a bit nervous, his shoulders tense. It looked as if the cheerful, kind of annoying kid he had just met was brittle, about to break. Percy took a step closer to him, trying to give any kind of confort. He was so close to Nico he could smell the mint and vanilla scent he gave off.

“I’m sorry, Nico,” he began saying, presenting the boy the Mythomagic figurine his sister had died for, and was the only witness to the boy in front of him shattering.

What happened after that was a blur. Undead soldiers, Nico saving him, only to tell him he never wanted to see him again, Nico running away from camp.

And through it all, his heart was beating at maximum speed, breaking over and over again.

* * *

He confronted Aphrodite before leaving camp. She appeared by the beach the day his mother would come back for him, and he wanted to ask her what had gone wrong.

“You did a fine job, Percy,” she said as he approached her, giving a small giggle. “Why, I think this love story might be one of my best!”

“Love… story?” Percy repeated incredulously. “Bianca died, Atlas killed Zoe, I failed Annabeth and Thalia! What kind of love story are you talking about?!” He didn’t realize when he had started shouting, but he was feeling overwhelmed by the anger he felt at both himself and the goddess in front of him.

“Everything will be revealed in time.” She winked, seemingly unaffected by his outburst. “I promise you, Percy, you’ll have the best romance of the generation! A love life like no other!” Aphrodite laughed, delighted at whatever she had planned.

“What do you mean by that?” Percy’s mind was whirling with questions. Had this whole quest been a game to Aphrodite? Did she not care about Kronos rising again? Had her advice only been to lead him into this romance she was talking about?

“The best romances are those that are filled with a flurry of emotions. Anger, jealousy, guilt! And you’ll be at the center of it all! Just thinking about it makes me excited!” She gushed.

At that moment, Percy realized that in Aphrodite’s eyes he was insignificant, as was the case with many other gods. He didn’t really matter to her, he was just a necessary part of the story she was so interested in seeing. He felt sick for ever trusting her.

“You tricked me!”

“Artemis is free and the gods will fight the Titans directly now. I'd say I sent you on the right path, didn’t I?” She smiled sweetly and got closer to him. “Don’t worry Perseus, love is a wonderful thing! Once this is all over, you’ll be thanking me for letting you experience it in full!”

Percy was about to retort, but Aphrodite danced away and barely gave Percy enough time to close his eyes before she disappeared into godly light.

The only thing remaining was the same scent that drove him crazy when she had used it before in the back of her limousine, which he now identified as mint and vanilla.

If Percy had been someone else, he would have picked up on the signs and tried to avert what Aphrodite had just set in motion. He would have tried to reach his father, Hades, Chiron, _anyone_ , to keep an eye on Nico di Angelo.

But he was Percy Jackson, and in his anger, decided to never again interact or pay attention to Aphrodite, even ignoring the blatant hints she had dropped during their meeting.

Hindsight really is 20/20, but Percy wouldn’t pick up on what his second meeting with the love goddess really meant until six months later, once he came across a certain Son of Hades once more, and seen the extent of his change.


	2. Love blooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some stuff that should probably be said now before it comes up: Nico is _not_ in love with Percy in this fic. The Percico dynamic is completely reversed here. Yes, Nico is still gay, but there's a reason he's not crushing on Percy, same as Aphrodite's talk and his guilt over Bianca has made Percy notice Nico as more than just "an annoying kid" much earlier than in canon.  
>  Second, you'll notice that I skip over huge chunks of the books. My intent is not to rewrite PJO and HoO, but to focus on scenes with/about Nico and/or Percy's love life, since the AU is about exploring this change and the romance subplot is pretty separate from the main plot anyways. If I skip over any scene, assume it happened almost exactly as it does in canon.

Like most demigod quests involving Percy, this one was preceded by a dream. In that particular occasion, it was about Nico di Angelo.

The boy had hit a growth spurt, now only about 4 inches shorter than Percy instead of the 10 he had over him 6 months ago. However, it seemed as if he hadn’t gained any weight to compensate for the extra height. He was gangly and pale, with sunken eyes and a slightly manic look that made it all the easier to recognize him as his father’s son. He walked towards an opening in the rocks; the darkness around him seemed to imply Nico was in his father’s realm.

“Over here?” Percy couldn’t help but notice his voice had also become deeper as he looked through him to whomever he was talking to.

The figure he was looking through said nothing, but must have given some confirmation, as Nico nodded back started digging through the rock using his powers.

He saw a black glimmer shine through the rock, as the sound running water became clearer in the background.

He woke up with a start to his mom knocking on his door, reminding him to get ready to visit the school her new boyfriend worked at.

With his mind still on Nico, Percy got up and headed for a quick shower. He couldn’t help but still feel guilty about the runaway demigod and this whole situation. And knowing that Nico was not alone was an even more worrying thought.

* * *

 

Percy’s day could have gone better, all things considered. Blowing up his school to defeat demon cheerleaders and running away to camp was probably not going to endear him to the staff, seeing a giant, tamed hellhound and having Grover be given an ultimatum should have been the cherry on top of the cursed day that is his demigod life, but life, as dinosaur movies say, finds a way.

Nico di Angelo appeared to him on an anonymous Iris Message with the intent to kill him as revenge and to bring his sister back. Honestly? He couldn't blame him. Hell, he’d even offer himself up if it meant atoning for what he did to Nico.

But the fact remained that his life was not just a “get out of the underworld free” card. He had his mother to consider, his friends, and even Nico himself. Him being alive, being the child of the Big Three to take on the prophecy meant that neither Nico nor the back from the dead Bianca would have to take that responsibility.

 ** _That_** was what Nico needed, and that was what he was going to do.

He was taken out of his thoughts by Tyson’s loud snoring. He went towards his bed, deciding a couple hours of sleep was just what he needed right now, even with the threat of more demigod dreams.

* * *

 

He destroyed his fountain by necessity the second time it showed him Nico, even if it had been his only remaining link to the son of Hades. He hated not knowing what that ghost was whispering to Nico as he slowly wasted away. Before he knew it, he was already part of Annabeth’s quest through the Labyrinth, and meeting both Janus and Hera.

The woman’s fake concern seemed obvious to Percy. It had nothing to do with Hercules or even with her ever so condescending tone with Annabeth. He noticed all the same tells that he should have recognized in Aphrodite six months ago.

“Don’t think for a second she’s doing this for us,” Percy said as they moved through the passageways of the Labyrinth. “She’s guiding us, but only for herself.”

“I’m not stupid, Percy,” Annabeth murmured to make sure Tyson and Grover didn’t overhear them. “I know that she can’t be trusted, but it doesn’t matter. A self-serving lead is better than no lead.”

Percy tried not to feel insulted. He hadn’t told anyone about Aphrodite, but he doubted Annabeth would have minced her words even if she knew. Annabeth was just that kind of person. It was part of the reason they were such good friends.

There truly wasn’t anyone else he could confide to about this whole mess.

“Annabeth… I have to tell you—”

Before he could finish, Tyson finally pushed the stone in their path, leading them into a prison cell.

* * *

 

Percy found Nico.

He found him.

Their trip through the Labyrinth had led them to Triple G Ranch, and to Nico.

As soon as their eyes met, Percy felt something constricting his heart, as if the whole world had flipped upside down at least 4 times, but hadn’t bothered to tell his stomach.

“Nico…” Percy made to move towards him, but the son of Hades just glared at him and took a step backwards.

“They let my sister die!” Nico said to Geryon (not to him), enraged. “They’ve come to kill me, too!”

Each of those words felt like a stab to Percy. He wanted to reach out to Nico, hug him and make all those thoughts go away.

Mostly, he wanted Nico to trust him again. He wanted a second chance to prove he could be trusted, that he could be Nico’s friend.

“I would never do that Nico,” he said, pleading for him to listen. “Bianca—”

“Don’t say her name!” Nico was shouting, trembling with rage. Percy would have kept trying if not for Geryon placating him and taking them all on a tour through his monstrous ranch.

He didn’t know if he should be relieved at Geryon’s obvious allegiance to Kronos or not. It gave him the chance to convince Nico he _was_ trying to make amends, but it also put them all in danger, and it almost ended in Nico being sold to the Titans.

“Let’s ask Bianca then,” Percy said to stop Nico. He tried to explain that she wouldn’t come, but Percy convinced him she would appear now that they were together.

He was actually not that sure that Bianca was his anonymous Iris Message source on Nico, but even if she wasn’t, he was sure Nico would succeed now that he was with him.

Because Percy felt like anything could be accomplished with Nico by his side.

* * *

 

Percy didn’t know whether to thank Bianca for talking him up to her brother or just give her a small smile since all it did was convince Nico he wasn’t out to hurt him.

It was still progress, right?

They left Nico under Eurytion’s care when he refused to accompany them and set off towards Hephaestus, who asked them to rid his forge of monsters.

All these tangents just to find Daedalus and his workshop. Honestly, Percy was amazed quests needed this many detours. Did demigods really need to pass as many mythological dangers as possible to accomplish anything?

Said detours were also filled with nothing but trouble, as it had resulted in Mount Saint Helens blowing up and leaving him almost dead in a deserted island with a girl named Calypso.

Being nursed back to health gave Percy a good opportunity to think. He needed to get back. He needed to go pick up Nico from the ranch. Annabeth, Grover and Tyson were probably worried, too.

Annabeth…

Annabeth had kissed him. She kissed him and he had felt nothing. Well, that wasn’t true, he had felt embarrassed. It was his first kiss, too. Kissing someone usually meant you liked them. Unless it had been a heat of the moment kind of thing, this meant his friend Annabeth liked him, but when he tried to think of her as something else, something more, he just… couldn’t.

Annabeth was intelligent, amazing, brilliant, brave and proud. She was everything any guy could ever want, but whenever he conjured her in his mind, Percy only saw his best friend. A girl who had gotten him in nearly as much trouble as she had gotten him out of. The best friend ever.

She was someone he could easily imagine being with for the rest of his life… just not as a couple.

Because Annabeth was also brash, she was difficult, she was unwilling to believe she could be bested and above all, she was always right. Those things were something Percy could ignore or even appreciate as a friend, but he’s certain it would make him feel… inadequate as a boyfriend.

He decided to push all of that out of his mind and center on recovering and helping Calypso tend to her garden when Hephaestus showed up.

“I’m sure you have met my wife by now,” was one of the things he said after telling him what he knew of his friends and Mount St. Helens.

“Aphrodite,” Percy spat the name with venom, not caring if her husband heard. Hephaestus, however, seemed pleased with him.

“Yeah, you’ve definitely met her,” he guffawed. “Not all demigods are privy to the ‘True face of Love’, as I like to call it. That woman is as shrewd as my mother, and maybe even cleverer.” Percy nodded, understanding what he was implying.

“Was it her that brought me to this island?”

“Hard to say, but be careful with her. Demigods far more resourceful than you have fallen to her wiles.”

Percy may have promised himself to not trust any god other than his father, but like Annabeth said, self-serving guidance was better than no guidance.

Whether Hephaestus saw him as a person or a toy didn’t matter. Right now, both of them were against Aphrodite.

With that out of the way, they moved on to discuss Daedalus’ workshop and how they could find their way through the Labyrinth.

* * *

 

He was almost certain Aphrodite was the one responsible for Ogygia now.

He could practically hear her relishing on Calypso’s broken heart as he followed one of the Labyrinth’s paths behind Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He shook his head as subtly as he could. He didn’t have time for this. Grover and Tyson were still missing and Nico had entered the Labyrinth and was probably lost and with Minos filling his head with lies. He gritted his teeth as he tried not to shout at either Rachel or Annabeth to hurry up and stop their silly fight.

They had encountered Luke and the lost demigod he had dreamed about, Ethan Nakamura. Percy had felt a weight lift off his shoulders right then, even if it meant he had to fight to the death for Antaeus’ entertainment.

Nico was safe… or as safe as a demigod could be on a monster-infested, madness-inducing labyrinth. Tyson and Grover were most probably still alive. They had escaped Luke and were now camping inside the Labyrinth, Ethan Nakamura leaving long ago.

Focus on the positive.                                                                             

“Sorry, she’s usually not like this. I don’t know what’s up with her,” Percy apologized after their fight had ended with Annabeth leaving for wood for the fire.

“Are you sure you don’t know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Boys… you’re all blind.”

He wasn’t. He just wasn’t ready to confront Annabeth right now. Acting dumb was as good a defense mechanism as any, and call him a coward, but he was using it.

They talked a bit more before going to sleep. His mind drifted back to Nico once more.

He just hoped he could stay safe until he found him.

* * *

Percy was a jumble of emotions.

He was worried over Tyson and Grover, he was mad, no, scratch that, he was **_furious_** at Nico for letting himself be tricked by Minos and be captured by Luke’s army, but his heart was also soaring at the thought of Nico entering the Labyrinth _just_ to help him.

He had gotten through! Nico was willing to listen to him!

“It hasn’t been easy, you know?” Nico said as they walked through the Labyrinth. “Having the dead as my only company. Knowing I’ll never be accepted among the living. Only the dead respect me, and it’s because they fear me.”

“You could be accepted,” Percy felt the need to argue. “There’s a place for you in camp. You could make friends…”

“Do you really think so, Percy?” He looked at him directly. He seemed doubtful, but something like hope was sparkling in there.

If Percy was honest with himself, he wasn’t sure, but being in camp would keep Nico safe. He had no family, so he’d have to be there all year, but he would still make sure to be by his side during the summers. Even take him on quests so he didn’t feel alone.

“Even if you don’t, I—”

He crashed into Rachel, who pointed towards an entryway. Nico also shuddered.

It was the entrance to Mount Othrys. There they saw Luke becoming Kronos, and would have also died if not for Nico securing their escape.

“That was amazing!” Percy told him. They had stopped for a minute to catch their breath. Nico looked at him and stood straighter.

“Yeah well, thank those two.” he motioned towards Rachel and Annabeth, who seemed about to start fighting again after Percy had praised Rachel for hiting the Titan king with a hairbrush. “Helping you is the only thing they seem to agree on.”

“Oh…”

“They also said that it’s because if we didn’t you’d ruin everything,” he said, giving a tired, self-satisfied smirk.

Percy counted the teasing as a victory.

* * *

After witnessing Pan’s death and finally leaving the Labyrinth, Percy went to say goodbye to Rachel. She confessed that her father bought wild places to modernize them, but to Percy, that was meaningless.

Being a demigod basically had the teaching “You are not your parents” drilled into your head.

“Well… If you ever want to hang out with a mortal, give me a call.”

“Ah, sure,” he said lamely. Rachel frowned at him. “Uh, I mean, I’d love to.”

“My number is not on the phone guide.”

“I got it,” Rachel looked disbelieving and sneaked a glance at the hand were she had scribbled it. “I memorized it?” he admitted, knowing how creepy it sounded.

Rachel seemed not to agree, as she gave him a million watt smile.

“I’ll see you around, Percy Jackson. Go save the world for me, okay?” Before he could respond, she was already on her way.

Well, if he was avoiding the Annabeth thing, he could avoid this too. He turned around to rejoin his friends.

Nico was having trouble with his Pegasus. Apparently, Porkpie didn’t want to carry him because he smelled like the dead. Percy tried his best not to be offended on his behalf. Nico smelled wonderful, thank you very much. Mint mixed perfectly with vanilla. Even now, when he hadn’t showered, he only smelled slightly of frankincense, not like rotting corpses at all.

“Go without me,” Nico exclaimed in frustration. “It’s not like I want to go back to that camp anyways!”

“Nico,” Percy said in the most soothing voice he could muster. Nico just crossed his arms and frowned. “Please, we need you.”

 _I need you_.

“Nico. _Please_ ,” Annabeth stressed the word and looked at him. Nico slowly softened and nodded. Percy tried not to glare at Annabeth. Why did Nico listen to her and not him?

Despite his efforts, Annabeth seemed to notice, as she just stuck her tongue at him and mounted her Pegasus.

Regardless of the result of this battle, he felt he was going to be cranky all day.

* * *

 

Percy felt so proud of Nico.

Without him, they would have been overwhelmed by Luke’s… by Kronos’ army. He risked his life for them, and then he had decided to free Daedalus without bringing his sister back.

He wasn’t the same kid he had met at Westover. He had grown up so much in so little time.

Percy wished he hadn’t had to, but he was still proud.

He found him by the beach, talking to Bianca’s ghost. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw the girl wink at him, and disappeared when he reached Nico.

“She was just saying goodbye,” Nico explained, his voice soft.

“You weren’t at dinner. You could’ve sat with me,” Percy offered. “It’s not healthy to skip meals.”

“I’m not staying, Percy,” Nico said, he still wasn’t looking at him. Percy felt like the whole world was on his shoulders again.

“Why not? If you don’t want to stay in Hermes Cabin, I’m sure they can make an exception for you. There’s the Big House or… you could even room with me! Maybe—”

“It’s not that. I don’t belong here, Percy. You know that,” Nico smiled bitterly. “There’s a reason there’s no Hades Cabin. He and his children are not welcome.”

He wanted to argue, to tell him that, as a demigod, this was his place, but he knew Nico was right, and he hated it.

“You still need training. The monsters out there—”

“I train with the dead,” Nico finally looked at him. He was frowning, but seemed more annoyed than angry. “I’m sorry I was such a brat to you. Bianca was right. What happened to her was not your fault, so you should stop blaming yourself, too.”

Percy felt his throat closing up. He blinked back his tears and nodded.

“What are you going to do now?” He asked instead. He still wasn’t quite ready to forgive himself, but Nico doing so was a huge relief.

“I have a lot of questions,” Nico shrugged. “Who was my mother? Who paid our tuition at Westover? Who was the lawyer that took us out of the Casino? I know nothing about my past, Percy. I want to find out.”

“It’s a good goal,” Percy said. He took the Hades figurine out and offered it to Nico once more. “Here, Bianca wanted you to have it, you know?”

Nico took it. Their fingers touched, revealing his skin was cold as an iceberg. He looked at the figurine, but didn’t seem particularly enthused with it.

“Thanks, but I don’t play anymore. It’s for kids.”

“It still has 4000 attack points,” Percy pointed out. Nico gave a more sincere smile.

“5000, but only if your foe attacks first.” Percy grinned and nodded at him.

“Maybe it’s okay to still be a kid sometimes.”

“Maybe,” he said and shoved the figurine inside his pocket. “See you around, Percy. I’ll contact you if I find out something important.”

Percy nodded. He still didn’t want Nico to leave, but understood why he had to. He instead decided to relish on the fact that Nico promised to stay in contact.

Baby steps.

* * *

 

The only thing he had clear was that Hera was as dangerous as Aphrodite.

She, not Aphrodite, had been the one behind Ogygia, she had paid Geryon for their safe passage, but not for Nico’s and she had promised to make life a living hell for Annabeth after she had rightfully called her out over her “gifts”.

At least this time, Percy hadn’t been the one to fall for a goddess’ schemes.

His birthday was more eventful than usual, what with his mom’s boyfriend asking Percy’s blessing to marry her and his father’s appearance, but the real surprise was seeing Nico by his window as he planted the moonlace Calypso had given him in a pot.

“It’s a nice plant,” he commented. Percy jumped back and covered the plant with his arms. For some reason, the idea of Nico seeing it made him feel uncomfortable. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay! You’re welcome! I mean… come in!” He blabbered as he ushered Nico inside and sat with him on his bed. His heart was beating a hundred miles per hour and he couldn’t help but notice how much of a mess his room was.

Nico was telling him about Daedalus punishment, and Percy listened intently. Anything to keep him around a bit longer, but then…

“I know of a way to defeat Luke,” he said. Percy straightened up and looked at him with wide eyes. “If I’m not wrong, it’s the only way you’ll have a chance.”

“Okay, I’m listening.” Nico seemed about ready to say his idea in the bluntest way possible when his eyes drifted towards his bedside table.

“Is that… blue birthday cake?”

Percy looked over and nodded, noticing Nico looking at it longingly. Percy didn’t take more than a second to decide.

“We have more inside. Ice cream too,” Percy said and offered his hand as he stood up. “It seems we have a lot to talk about.”

Nico accepted and gave him a small smile.

His heart was hammering in his chest, but this time not out of surprise. Aphrodite’s talk with him last winter came back to him.

Oh.

He was crushing on Nico di Angelo.

Well, wasn’t _that_ a twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, Percabeth and Perachel have sunk... a moment of silence, please.  
> I wanted to have this chapter ready for Percy's birthday, but alas, real life got in the way. This chapter is about thrice as long as the first, but that's mostly because Nico is a pretty big part of BoTL. Hilariously enough, I barely had to edit most of these scenes. Even without a crush on him, Percy is still pretty obssessed with Nico and his safety in canon lol.  
> TLO will probably be split in 2. Not because of chapter length, but because I want to keep the chapter themes congruent. Last chapter was about the set up to Percy's crush, this is the development of said crush, next chapter? You'll have to wait until next week to find out...  
> As always, please give me some feedback. I enjoy writing this, but I need to know how I'm doing with this little experiment of mine.


	3. Love overcomes obstacles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclaimer: This chapter is the reason this fic was born. It was the first to be planned out, and it took a little longer than last because I wanted it to be perfect.
> 
> Did You know Nico is a huge part of the whole first third of TLO? It's ridiculous how much I had to rewrite because of how many of his scenes would change, however slightly, due to Percy crushing on him.

Percy Jackson can admit when he’s terrified.

Not only is his life in near permanent danger because of his demigod genes, as the oldest child of the Big Three he’s also meant to either save or destroy the world by the time he’s 16. And that’s without taking into account how he’s head over heels with another child of the Big Three.

For the past year, he’s been seeing Nico di Angelo regularly appear in his room, by his school yard and even once in the janitor’s closet. The last winter, the two of them and Thalia had even quested together. Honestly, he would probably milk it for all it’s worth to spend time with him, but Nico was always all business. He came in, talked about what Kronos, his generals or his monsters were up to, mentioned briefly what was happening with his search for his past and then disappeared when he looked away.

It was incredibly frustrating. There was also the fact that Nico was certain Percy taking on the Curse of Achilles was the only way for him to defeat Kronos and live to tell the tale. Percy liked to imagine it was Nico’s way of showing he cared, and he wasn’t ashamed in admitting he grinned like a goofy idiot for about an hour after each of his visits before realizing just how distressing his news were.

Typhon was awakening. Most of the Titans had escaped Tartarus. Their fathers were too busy fighting rebellions in their own realms to help, and Nico pushed the curse thing insistently.

It was so much he often called Rachel Elizabeth Dare so he could pretend, at least for an hour, that he was a normal teenage boy for once.

They were on his stepfather’s car, talking about Rachel’s father and his invitation to St. Thomas, just “normal people” stuff, as they called it, when Rachel had unexpectedly dropped a bomb.

“So… hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take for the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?”

“Uh…” Percy had been avoiding the subject ever since last summer. He didn’t know how to react, how to reject her and keep her friendship.

He couldn’t just say “I’m sorry, there’s this guy who’s really cute and I haven’t been able to think of anyone else since my birthday… still friends?” and expect everything to work out, could he?

Could he?

He didn’t know which god to thank for Blackjack totaling his stepdad’s car, Charles Beckendorf in tow, bringing an end to the conversation, but he would give them some extra sacrifice as soon as possible, even if his stepdad would never loan him the car again.

“So, I guess you guys have to go save the world now.”

“Pretty much,” Beckendorf answered for him.

He said goodbye to Rachel, only to receive a surprise kiss from her.

Percy didn’t say anything and scrambled towards his Pegasus.

“So…” Beckendorf said awkwardly as they got far away from Rachel and the car. “I’m guessing you don’t want me to tell Annabeth about that.”

Oh right, a witness.

“I’d prefer if you never mention this to anyone. Ever,” Percy said and sighed. Beckendorf seemed to pick up on his mood, maybe it had to do with him dating a daughter of Aphrodite.

“You don’t like her?”

“I didn’t expect her to kiss me. She’s a friend. A good friend. Nothing else.” He shrugged and preferred not to mention that he felt the exact same way about Annabeth.

Because campers had this _idea_ of them, like they all expected them to get together. He didn’t think Annabeth would disagree with them, if he was being honest, but he knew some of them (Aphrodite cabin, mostly) used preserving their so-called “perfect romance” as a motive to keep on fighting. Percy didn’t want to ruin their morale, but above all, he didn’t want to lose Annabeth.

Keeping quiet was the best option all around.

It seemed like Beckendorf agreed. He didn’t ask any more questions until they were almost on top of the _Princess Andromeda_.

* * *

He dreamt of Nico after being knocked out by the _Princess Andromeda_ blowing up, and not in the fun “I’m a teenage boy” way.

He was spying on Mount Othrys, which meant he’d probably appear to inform Percy soon, as he was wont to do, but apparently being a Son of Hades meant he could see demigod dreamers sneaking around.

“You see, Percy?” Nico whispered as he turned to look at him. Percy hoped this form wasn’t able to blush at being caught. “You’re running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?”

He tried to talk back, but apparently, consciousness was too insistent on him.

* * *

Neither his father’s realm nor Camp had been fun at all.

First, he had to meet his father’s family, find out he’s in a long, weary battle with Oceanus, and leave without being able to help. Then, there was the fact that, no matter what choice he took, he would die, then have Clarisse act like a brat and breaking the news of her boyfriend’s death to Silena and of a spy to the counselors. After that, he had to see the gods fighting Typhon, but barely scratching him. On top of all _that_ , he confirmed feigning ignorance around Annabeth seemed to be leading her on instead of deterring her. He wasn’t that good of an actor, he knew Annabeth could tell he was avoiding the subject, just like she was doing.

Was there a rule in the crush guidebook saying that if your crush acts like he doesn’t know you like them they would eventually like you back?

Because if that was so, it meant he had a chance with Nico if he managed not to die. That or he just _really_ sucked at flirting subtly.

It’s not like he was the only one, though. Annabeth was like a rock thrown by Briares whenever she tried to lead him towards a conversation about feelings. He could understand her, since this was supposed to be his last summer alive. He also understood how frustrated she was he kept switching topics whenever she tried. But maybe, just maybe, if he could keep this up until his birthday, he could die without having to break Annabeth’s heart, or his own by confessing to Nico.

Speaking of…

“Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I’d say you shook him up pretty well,” Nico said off-handedly, as he walked alongside Mrs. O’Leary into the Cloven Elders' meeting place in the forest. Percy would have loved if he told him he was there because he missed him or because he somehow foresaw Percy losing his cool and threatening one of the Cloven Elders and wanted to prevent it, but he knew that wasn’t the case.

Nico was there to talk about the Curse of Achilles again.

…and to blush around Juniper, apparently.

 _“She’s Grover’s girlfriend. Grover’s **devoted** girlfriend. Nico probably isn’t really interested in her anyway,”_ Percy thought as outwardly he just smiled at Juniper and promised her to find Grover.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t find her disappearing to escape Mrs. O’Leary’s bathroom needs was both a blessing and a curse.

He enjoyed being around Nico, being alone with Nico, but the closer they got to his birthday, the more insistent he was on his plan.

“I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf,” Nico said. Okay, terrible way to break the ice but he’d take it over another conversation about dumping him in the Styx.

“How did you—”

“I talked to his ghost,” Nico shrugged like it was no big deal. Percy tried to act like it didn’t unnerve him.

“Did… did he say anything?”

“He doesn’t blame you. I know you tend to think every death in this war is on your shoulders, but it’s not true, and Beckendorf agrees with me,” he looked straight at him. Nico had noticed Percy’s guilt, and now that he was not on a revenge quest against him, he was doing all he could to help him through it. “He’s staying in Elysium, says he’s waiting for someone. He seems okay with death.”

He nodded. Nico was just too good, despite the slightly creepy demeanor.

They talked about Nico spying on the Titans by Mount Tam, about his family, and about how Nico was close to finding a lead on them, before invariably turning back to _that_ subject.

“It just seems a little extreme,” Percy said, shuddering.

"You've got Typhon coming in, what… a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme," Nico looked unimpressed towards camp, where the Apollo and Ares cabins were still fighting over a flying chariot. “They are no match and you know it. We have to go for Luke, and there’s only one way to fight him on equal ground, if you want to prevent dying to a cursed blade.”

Percy was touched, almost enough to ignore the fact that Nico had somehow eavesdropped on the prophecy. Still, his common sense and experience as a demigod won out.

“You can’t prevent a prophecy.”

“But you can still fight it,” Nico seemed convinced as he said it. Percy idly wondered if that conviction was what made him so bitter about Bianca.

“Maybe we should wait a bit. See how I do as I am and—”

“It has to be now!” Nico’s temper flared, his fatal flaw coming up again. He seemed to notice and breathed deeply. “There will be no time once the battle starts, Percy. I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, but two years ago my sister gave her life to protect you. I want you to honor that. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos.”

Percy nodded, feeling dread replace the light feeling he usually had around Nico. Of course he wasn’t doing this because he liked him. Nico was just honoring his sister by keeping him alive.

Somewhere deep inside, he knew Nico was probably using his guilt over Bianca to sway him, but it was working, nonetheless. This boy had had to mature and fight in the world alone because of him. It would be unfair if he didn’t at least trust him with his safety, even if he only did so because of Bianca.

After months of convincing, Percy finally said yes to the Curse of Achilles.

* * *

Shadow Travel was a rush.

Now he knew how Nico seemed to appear anywhere whenever it was convenient, but he also understood why he did it so often.

Moving through the shadows came with a rush of adrenaline akin to a roller coaster, only even more intense. The fact that these shadows smelled just like Nico was just an added bonus.

Too bad it tired out both Nico and Mrs. O’Leary, but the feeling was simply amazing.

“I can only do it once or twice a night,” he explained as he yawned. Percy would probably be murdered if he told Nico he looked cute when he was sleepy.

“So we’ve got some quality time in Connecticut,” He tried, even though he knew Nico was immune (or just oblivious) to his flirting. He sighed at the usual lack of reaction and rang the bell to May Castellan’s home.

* * *

Nico seemed to have gotten the information he wanted from Luke’s mother. Percy shuddered at the still fresh memory of the woman as they walked back to Mrs. O’Leary, only to find a little girl sitting by the fireplace.

Said little girl gave them a feast, and turned out to be Hestia, who Nico already knew.

They talked about Luke and his family, and about how the answer to defeating him seemed to be in yielding.

Percy didn’t really understand, but he assumed he would eventually, as was the norm with the god’s cryptic advice. Hestia struck him as far more personable than either Aphrodite or Hera. They liked to impose, to be seen as beautiful and regal. Hestia seemed humbler, but as powerful as either of them. On top of that, Nico trusted her, so he would as well.

She left them at his home, where he, Nico, and his mother talked about the plan Nico had. He was pretty sure his mom noticed his ears getting red as Nico tried to convince her give them ( _give him, give **him**_ ) her blessing, but she seemed just worried enough about the Curse’s consequences to not comment on it.

Paul was a huge help in getting his mom’s blessing, and without further ado they were off to the Underworld entance that had apparently been in Central Park all along.

“Wait, hold up… does that mean my first quest could have been done in 3 days instead of two weeks?” He asked no one in particular. Nico still shrugged, unfamiliar with that particular adventure of his.

“This is a less known entrance. Orpheus made it with his lyre to get his lover back from the Underworld.” Percy kind of liked the idea of Nico and him passing through a door built for lovers. “He failed, of course. She couldn’t leave the Underworld because he looked back before she was completely out. Orpheus lived the rest of his life writing melancholy songs about it.”

…And the moment was dead. Thank you, Nico.

They needed music to pass through the entrance, but Percy couldn’t hold a note if his life depended on it and Nico seemed just as averse to singing.

Thankfully, his empathy link with Grover began tingling like crazy for the first time in weeks, and he had managed to wake his best friend from the Morpheus induced spell (add to the worrying pile of gods betraying Olympus for later) and open the door for them.

Grover gave him a meaningful look as he motioned with his head towards Nico before going away to contact Juniper. Percy just nodded sheepishly. He guessed Grover had found out because of the empathy link.

They seriously needed to sit down and talk about a lot of things, but first things first.

He needed to make sure he survived this war.

* * *

After entering the Underworld, Nico seemed to act far more reticent, jumpy. Percy worried, of course, but he really couldn’t understand what was wrong. He looked full of doubt, nervous… regretful, maybe? Percy kept glancing back at him every couple of steps.

Nico tried to wave it off as they followed Mrs. O’Leary, who seemed way too enthused with the idea of playing with Cerberus.

“Aren't we getting too close to the Palace, Nico? Styx is the other way,” he managed to say, confused. Nico was now sweating.

Before he could answer, his math teacher landed right in front of him with her sisters in tow.

“Hey… Mrs. Dodds.”

“Welcome back, honey,” she shrieked with a smirk. Nico looked at the two of them.

“You know Alecto?”

“She was my sixth grade math teacher,” he explained awkwardly. Nico nodded as if that was perfectly normal (maybe it was. Olympus knows how Hades kept Nico educated).

“I've done what my father asked. Take us to the palace,” Nico said to the Furies. Percy felt as if he had been kicked in the chest.

No. This was all a misunderstanding. It had to be.

“Wait a second, Nico. What do you—“

“I'm afraid this is my new lead, Percy. My father promised me information about my family, but he wants to see you before we try the river. I'm sorry.” He did look genuinely sorry, but Percy just felt as if he was shattering.

“You _tricked_ me?” Percy wanted to scream, wanted to reclaim, wanted to punch him in the stomach and then kiss him silly.

He didn’t know what was more pathetic, that he had fell so easily to Nico’s lies, or that a part of him still liked him.

How can someone still like a person they’ve begun to hate?

He pushed his thoughts away and lunged at him, but the Furies were faster, talons grabbing him by the shoulders alongside Nico and taking them towards Hades’ Palace.

Mrs. O’Leary seemed to not like that, however, as she tried to attack Alecto to free him.

“If she keeps this up, she’ll get hurt,” Nico said, his eyes trained on the hellhound. “You should call her off. I promise my father just wants to talk.”

Percy had half a mind to tell her to attack Nico. Not kill him, just ruffle him up enough to regret what he did. Still, Nico was right, Mrs. O’Leary would just get hurt fighting the Furies.

“It’s okay, girl! I’ll be fine! Wait here!” Percy called out. His hellhound whimpered, but complied. He turned to glare at Nico. “All right, traitor, you got your prize. Take me to the stupid Palace.”

The whole trip, Nico didn’t even dare look at him, and Percy didn’t know if that hurt him more or filled him with sick satisfaction.

* * *

Percy could only give a miserable chuckle in his dark, door-less stone cell.

Nico had been tricked. Like father, like son, he guessed. Hades had lied to him and only given him the barest of information on his mother. He hadn’t wanted to talk to Percy, but to imprison him so Nico would be the Child of the Prophecy.

The stupid part of him that still liked Nico seemed convinced Hades wouldn’t have been so brutal with him if he hadn’t realized he liked Nico.

He undoubtedly noticed though, if his thinly veiled threats to stay away from Nico meant anything. In fact, comparing his Underworld visits, the first two had felt like entering a Dark Lord’s realm, while this one seemed like a really botched meet the parents stereotype, where instead of getting threatened with a shotgun, he got thrown into a dungeon.

He wondered if Hades saw him as a threat because Nico also felt something for him, before shaking his head.

It didn’t matter. Nico was a traitor. He could never trust him again. Even as Hades taunted him over Nico being sincere about the Curse of Achilles, Nico still hadn’t told him that his new lead required Percy to talk to Hades.

If he had, Percy would have agreed. He would have done anything for Nico. Gods, he was so dumb! Aphrodite was surely recording it to watch his suffering after this whole mess cleared up. He could already picture her with popcorn as she laughed and gushed at his stupidity.

His thoughts were interrupted by the wall-door of the cell opening, revealing Nico di Angelo.

Percy lunged at him. There were no furies around to protect him. He sat on his chest to immobilize him and pulled out Riptide, placing it above his neck.

“Came… to rescue… you,” he gasped out, out of air from Percy’s weight.

“Why should I believe you?”

“Why else… would I be here?” Percy stood up, he still hadn’t stopped glaring. Nico gasped a bit. “I didn’t want this to happen. Father promised me he just wanted to talk.”

 _“That’s not why I’m mad you idiot,”_ Percy thought angrily.

His silence must have been pretty telling, because Nico just sighed in defeat.

“We have to get out of here.”

“Why? Does your father want to _talk_ again?”

“Percy, now’s really not the time.”

“You lied to me! You know how your father is! You really believed he wouldn’t do anything?”

“I messed up, I admit it. Now I’m trying to fix it.” He took his hand and began dragging him out. Percy hated himself just a little for feeling lightheaded at the contact. “I put the guards to sleep, but it won’t last.”

During their escape, they ran into many skeleton guards, but everytime Nico waved his hand at one, they fell to the floor, asleep. Or as asleep as you could be when you’re dead.

However, this also seemed to come with Nico becoming more and more tired, to the point that, by the time they were at the Palace’s entrance, Percy was bridal carrying him as he continued to wave his hand at the guards.

“You okay?” He asked gruffly. Nico may have betrayed him, but that didn’t mean he wanted him to die of exhaustion.

“It’s not that bad,” he mumbled. On the distance, some gongs started resounding. “Alarms… we’ve been found out.”

“What do we do?”

“How about… run?”

Percy wondered if being a smartass came as a package with the demigod thing.

He shrugged and moved Nico so he was on his back. He ignored the fuzzy feeling of Nico linking his hands around his neck and ran towards river Styx.

* * *

Mrs. O’Leary came to save them, thankfully, and they landed right by river Styx. Nico flopped down from the hellhound’s back and rested against her. Percy gave him a square of ambrosia.

He wouldn’t accept his apology quite yet, but he still wanted to keep him safe.

“Careful. Your powers drain you a lot, don’t they?”

Nico nodded.

“With great power… comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later.”

“Wait! We’re at the river! You are the one that knows what to do,” Percy shook him a little, making him wake up a bit. Nico’s eyes widened as he shook his head.

“My father will be here soon. We better hurry.”

“So… I just jump in?” Percy asked, wondering if for once, demigod life could be that easy. Nico shook his head.

“You have to prepare yourself first, or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul.” Nico said in a voice Percy had catalogued as his ‘I mean even more business than usual’ voice.

"Well, that sounds like fun," Percy muttered. Nico seemed to have not heard him.

"There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life," He took a deep breath before his eyes widened at something behind him.

For a second, Percy thought Hades was standing behind him about to ask him about his intentions with his son, and was actually surprised to see a ghost in full armor in front of the river.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him it was Achilles, the only hero to have withstood bathing in the Styx… until Luke, at least.

He warned him, but after confirming Luke had indeed taking a dip in the river, well, he couldn’t just leave and hope for the best, could he?

Achilles told him about his mortal spot, that which still bound his body to the mortal world, lest his body disintegrate to nothing. It would be a physical spot in his body _and_ a state of mind. His greatest weakness and hope at the same time.

You know, fun stuff.

Nico tried to stop him when he was just a couple steps from the river. If things between them were okay, Percy would be touched, but he was still mad, and said something that, in retrospect, he shouldn’t have.

“If anything happens to me… Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all.”

Nico winced. Good, it was what he deserved.

He thought on the small of his back. Always protected by armor, not very conspicuous. Perfect for a mortal spot.

Percy planned to enter the river like a badass and come out as an invincible demigod, both to show off in front of Nico and also to spite him a little.

Too bad he flopped face first into the river as soon as his shoe touched the water.

* * *

The pain of Styx was unbearable.

He remembered what Achilles told him about a tether to the mortal world, something that made him want to live and withstand the pain the river was inflicting on him. A lifeline.

His mind was too focused on the pain, but he tried to think of the people he loved. His mother, Paul, Grover, Tyson, Annabeth, Rachel… their faces came and went in quick succession, but none seemed to stay. His body and mind wanted out of this pain, and nothing seemed like a powerful enough reason to bear it any longer.

He felt himself start to dissolve. His mind was disconnecting, he couldn’t even remember his own name.

“You can’t die here, Percy,” a voice he had memorized over the past year said stubbornly. He glanced towards it just to see Nico di Angelo frowning. “My father will probably throw me in the dungeons over this, and I want to believe I’m being punished for doing something worthwhile!”

 _It hurts too much, Nico._ He couldn’t talk, but it seemed the Son of Hades understood, as his eyes softened and he offered his hand.

“You need to live on,” Nico smiled. The same type of brilliant smile he had when Bianca was still alive. Up until then, Percy hadn’t realized how much he wanted to see it again. “You still want to make it up to me, don’t you? And I… I want to make it up to you for what I did, too.”

Despite the pain, Percy grinned and took Nico’s hand, finding enough strength to stand up.

The river spit him out unceremoniously in front of the real Nico, where he collapsed from exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” He stammered. “Your skin. Oh, gods. You're hurt!”

“It’s okay, I’m fine,” Percy was quick to reassure him. He didn’t want to worry him. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. Nico looked understandably confused.

It made sense. He didn’t know he had been the one to bring him back from the brink of death.

Before they could speak any more, Hades and his army, trying to take Nico back and kill him for escaping interrupted them.

Yup, the guy definitely knew about Percy’s feelings.

When Hades was about to grab Nico away, however, something in Percy exploded. He began fighting Hades’ army using both the Styx and his own body to do it.

The fighting felt different. His senses felt sharper but at the same time, duller. The undead army’s weapons bounced off of him, and he felt nothing but a slight tap from each of them. He could see the bullets firing from their muskets and dodge them easily.

Before he knew it, the army was obliterated, and he had his foot restricting Hades’ chest.

He asked him about the Titans trap for Olympus, but the god of the Underworld just melted away, something akin to fear and maybe awe in his eyes.

He fell to his knees after that, suddenly aware of how tired he was.

“That was amazing…” Nico said in a low voice. “That was one of my father’s best platoons. Percy, you do have a chance now!”

Percy smiled and struck out his hand. Nico understood and helped him up.

“Yeah, the river thing worked,” Percy joked. Nico rolled his eyes. “Let’s go, we need to get to Olympus before the Titans attack.”

Nico looked uncomfortable all of a sudden. He avoided his gaze for a few seconds before frowning and looking straight at him.

“I think it’d best if I stay here,” Nico said. Percy' eyes widened as he looked again to make sure Nico just wasn't telling the lamest joke in history.

“Look, I know I said some harsh things, but it’s okay! All is forgiven! We need the son of Hades on the fray,” Percy spoke quickly. He didn’t know why he was panicking. Had he done something wrong?

Nico shook his head.

“I… You were right to say them. It’s okay if you don’t trust me, Percy. I need to prove otherwise.” Percy wanted to argue, but Nico went on. “My father probably hates me right now, but I’ll work on him. I’ll try to get him to help with the war.”

It made sense. Gods damn it, it was a _sensible_ thing to suggest. Percy was beginning to hate logical arguments.

“Okay, be careful,” Percy said. Nico seemed to battle with himself for a second before nodding.

“We’ll see each other soon,” he made to shook his hand, but Percy instead drew him closer and placed his hand on the small of his back. For a second, his whole body came alive with feeling before Nico withdrew his hand, eyes wide. “Was that your—”

“I want to trust you, Nico, so I will.” he smiled as he climbed onto Mrs. O’Leary. “Only you can know where it is.”

He whispered to Mrs. O’Leary to take him home and the hellhound immediately sprang into action, running into the nearest shadow.

He hoped he had come off as cool enough.

* * *

The fight for Manhattan, for Olympus, had begun. Percy had managed to stop the monsters from reaching the island by water by convincing the spirits of the Hudson and East rivers to help them, and now they were fighting off Kronos himself and a slew of monsters and rogue demigods on top of the Williamsburg Bridge.

He was doing fine, until Ethan Nakamura’s knife was about to strike the small of his back without him being able to dodge.

Everything seemed to slow down for a moment as Percy saw his life flash by in a second. He was about to close his eyes and brace for impact…

But skeleton warrior was faster, blocking the knife with his body.

Percy blinked once, twice as the soldier took the rib the knife had severed and use it as a makeshift club to drive Nakamura away, and had to smile as he turned back to the fight.

He knew he was making the right choice by trusting Nico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is a true Love Reversal! Like Nico at the end of the Titan's Curse, Percy needed to discard this idea that Nico was this perfect guy who could do no wrong if we wanted his feelings to evolve from a "celebrity crush" type of deal to full-blown infatuation and love. At least, that's the way I read Nico's feelings in canon. In canon, Nico crushed on the idealized hero Percy Jackson, but he truly fell in love with the imperfect Percy once he realized that, even if he couldn't keep his promise, he still loved him. However, unlike Nico, Percy doesn't hold on to grudges, so his arc of forgiving and trusting Nico again is also shorter, especially once he realized he's his tether to save him from dissolving in the Styx.
> 
> Next time, we'll finish TLO and move a bit beyond the book. After that... well, I have a couple of ideas of how to do HoO, so let's hope I'm ready to share them before the next chapter is out.
> 
> As always, comments make me write faster, and it's always nice to know what people think of my work. Until next time!


	4. Love Shatters you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have come to the end of PJO. Kinda. I sort of omitted the last few lines of TLO, but then again... the story isn't over yet. That sense of finality wouldn't do.
> 
> This chapter originally a little longer, but I felt the need to keep the "theme" of the chapters consistent and well... just look at the title.

The skeleton disappeared right after it had saved him. Maybe breaking the bridge had something to do with it, Michael Yew was also missing, after all.

He tried to hope against hope that he was still alive, but war was chaotic and unpredictable.

They tried to organize a search party for Michael, even if something told him they weren’t going to find him.

The same way they hadn’t found Bianca…

Annabeth pulled him aside from the bridge’s wreckage.

“I need to tell you something,” she muttered as they moved.

She told him about meeting Luke before Kronos possessed him, asking her for help. She felt guilty about not being able to save Luke. Percy could relate, so he in turn tried to comfort her and told her about his and Nico’s meeting with May Castellan.

She was a huge help organizing the others after that. Silena offered to try and convince Clarisse to fight with them, Hermes and Apollo cabins were to raid stores and pharmacies for supplies (or “take what we need and leave some money and drachmas” as Will Solace, the new temporary Apollo Counselor, preferred to call it).

Things were not going great for them, though. Kronos’s spy was feeding him intel on them. Williamsburg Bridge, Michael Yew’s sacrifice… all of it could have been avoided if they had known the leak.

“You look exhausted man,” Grover said kindly as he tried to think of what to do next. “Rest up for a bit, we’ll wake you if anything happens.”

Percy nodded. They had made the Plaza their HQ for the moment, so he just found a bedroom that looked free and fell on the bed. Falling asleep to find himself with Nico… in a clean, demigod dream kind of way, of course.

He was trying to summon his mother, using the same chants and rituals he had done the previous summer to talk to his sister’s ghost.

Percy observed, entranced, as Bianca appeared instead of Maria di Angelo. She tried to warn Nico about summoning their mother, but he ignored her and sent her away.

Percy wished he could have helped Bianca convince Nico when he saw Maria di Angelo dying thanks to Zeus’s paranoia and Hades cursing the Oracle of Delphi.

The vision stopped as the real Hades walked through the mist created by Nico’s powers.

“And just what,” he said, glaring. He heard Nico gulp, but he apparently was too shocked to notice the god was not looking at him. “Do you think you’re doing?”

“I…” Speaking seemed to be enough, as Nico also turned to see him. He looked at him and tried to apologize for the intrusion, but the scene dissolved away before he could.

* * *

Maybe the Fates had decided enough was enough when it came to his dreams about Nico.

Bunch of hags.

He just wanted to know how the Son of Hades was doing! They still needed Hades and his army or else Kronos would win. He was doing his job!

Instead, they show him a bunch of dreams about Rachel being mad at him or talking with her father (rather pointless, considering she was there already), dreams about his father’s war, the gods fight against Typhon or Kronos planning his demise. He already knew all that. How did _that_ help them more than knowing whether Nico convinced his father or not?

There might be personal reasons involved, but it was still important.

In the meantime, he and his friends had had to parlay with a Titan, turn another Titan into a tree, slay a Drakon and face the death of one more friend.

Apparently, that last one was enough, as he collapsed soon after and saw Nico talking to Hades.

“We have to go!” He said, tired. Apparently it was not the first time they had this conversation. “If Kronos wins, all the Olympians will vanish. Even you!”

“We’re not part of them! You better than anyone should know that!” Hades shouted. For once, Percy considered it wise to keep silent to make sure Hades didn’t notice him. “You saw what happened with your mother!”

“Can we not talk about that woman?” Persephone said, apparently as tired as Nico. Beside her, Demeter harrumphed, making her daughter roll her eyes.

“You are _all_ Olympians, whether you like it or not!” Nico shouted. His glare seemed strong enough to make even his stepmother take him seriously. “They are your family, and we need to help them.”

“It would be less boring than waiting around here,” Persephone commented. She sounded genuine, even if she acted like she didn’t care.

“By helping Percy Jackson?” Hades asked, incredulous. Percy was sure he was blushing when Nico looked down, embarrassed. “What is it with that boy that makes everyone want to kill themselves for him?”

“It’s not like that,” Nico muttered. “He is loyal to a fault, so obviously he inspires others to be loyal to him. People die in a war, and he’s not responsible for that.”

Hades looked horrified, Demeter raised her eyebrow and Persephone finally seemed to be mildly interested as she smirked at Nico. Nico, however, had his eyes set on his father.

“I’ll ask you a question,” Hades said in a low voice. “If I like your answer enough, I might even consider your stupid petition to help my idiot siblings.”

“Swear it on the Styx,” Nico said. Hades looked unimpressed at him.

“I swear on the River Styx that I’ll help the Olympians if I like your answer,” he said flatly.

Nico nodded, seemingly satisfied with his progress. Hades had a murderous look as he glanced at him.

Crap.

“How _exactly_ do you feel about Percy Jackson?”

Hades moved his hand and sent Percy back to his own body.

* * *

In a way, Nico was his greatest source of inspiration.

Mr. D or the Fates could take the credit for the idea, but in truth, it had been Nico shouting to father about family that made him realize the way to turn this war around.

He sent Mrs. O’Leary with a message to Nico. It was a simple “it’s time to act.”

Short, simple, perfect.

It’s true he wished to talk to him about his dream, about what he had answered Hades, but there was no time for that. His death was fast approaching anyways, he’d think about that if he survived this.

He sent a message to his father by sitting on his throne (terrible idea, even if it had worked. He wouldn’t do it again) just in time to get a message of his own.

Kronos was at the Empire State entrance.

* * *

In the end, the hero of the prophecy had not been him, Nico or even Annabeth. It had been Luke all along. He had been the key to Kronos's defeat.

Not that they hadn’t helped. Apparently Nico’s answer had satisfied Hades enough to bring his undead army and drive back the Titan King’s main forces, while Percy and Annabeth had cornered Kronos.

Luke taking back control for a moment had been unexpected, and he had asked for a weapon.

That had been Percy’s choice, and no matter what he did, Luke, the real hero, would have died.

It was a sobering thought, really. But if the prophecy was not about him…

He glanced at Annabeth. She was radiant as the gods offered her to redesign Olympus now that the battle had destroyed it. However, she also kept glancing at him indiscreetly.

He had been avoiding that for too long, hadn’t he? A talk was probably in order at this point.

Nico looked truly happy, at least. Sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of his father. His heart felt light at seeing him smile again.

That was also something he couldn't avoid any longer. He just needed to wait for the right moment.

Hades noticed his staring, but instead of getting mad, his smug grin became even bigger.

He didn’t like that one bit.

He was so distracted he almost didn’t catch what the gods were offering him.

Godhood…

He glanced at Annabeth. His best friend’s face had become pale, all happiness she previously felt wasn’t there.

He spared a quick look at Nico. He looked mildly interested, but not as affected as Annabeth.

It didn’t matter, though. He had promised Luke something, and an eternity without his friends, family and Nico was just not worth it.

He instead used his gift to make sure all demigods were properly claimed, and to give all of the minor gods cabins at Camp Half-Blood.

He also asked for Hades to have a proper throne when he visited Olympus, but if the unimpressed look said anything, he hadn’t won over the Lord of the Dead quite yet.

Eh, so long as he didn’t blast him for dating his son.

After everything was over and done with Annabeth waited for him as he talked to Hermes about his unclaimed children. He was about to leave when he saw Aphrodite beckoning him. Percy cautiously followed. He might not like her, but ignoring a goddess was still a surefire way to death.

“A heart shines its brightest just before heartbreak, don’t you agree?” She was looking at Annabeth before turning her gaze to him, the same wicked delight he had seen at the beach was present.

“I don’t want to hurt her,” he said.

“The girl will be hurt, nonetheless. Love hurts by nature,” Aphrodite said. She seemed kinder now, but Percy wouldn’t be fooled again. “People believe love is this sweet, happy thing that will complete their lives, but you and I know better, don’t we? Love creates as much as it destroys. It has a beauty that’s all its own. You can't equate it with just happinness. Annabeth will soon learn this, as you did.”

“I didn’t come here to ask you about Annabeth,” he said, frowning. “I just want to know if…” he trailed off, and searched for Nico with his eyes. He was standing in a corner with his father. He remembered him and Bianca being in a similar position when he first saw him.

“If I won’t interfere anymore?” Aphrodite asked knowingly. She looked pensive for a moment. “The hero has triumphed. The enemy vanquished. All that remains is to conclude the romance aspect of this story, am I right?" She giggled.

Percy squirmed under her gaze, not sure what she was searching for.

After what felt like hours she seemed satisfied and nodded to herself.

“Fear not, Percy Jackson. All the pieces have fallen where they must. I won’t interfere on your love life any longer. I swear it on the Styx.”

Before she could even finish her oath, Percy was already walking towards Nico. The younger teen looked at his father and met him halfway when Hades nodded.

“Hey,” Percy said stupidly. Welp, there goes his one chance to appear cool.

“Hey,” Nico greeted back. “I better get going, someone has to inform Chiron about the new cabins, and Shadow Travel is faster than elevators.”

“Oh… I wanted to talk to you— I mean, Annabeth and Grover will go down now, so…”

Nico chuckled and looked at him. Percy gave a cringy laugh and looked down. He probably looked like a tomato.

“Annabeth already has a cabin. it’s not the same if it’s me or her, right?” He asked. Percy gulped at the implied double meaning.

Nico _knew_. He had to know.

“Not the same at all.”

* * *

Being thrown at a lake for your sixteenth birthday alongside your best friend would suck for many reasons. The obvious ones didn’t apply to Percy, being a Son of Poseidon and all.

It instead sucked because he now was in an air bubble under the lake, with a confused and hurt daughter of Athena after he had moved away from her kissing attempt.

“Percy…”

“Look, I know this isn’t the best moment… you’re a great girl Annabeth—”

Annabeth just punched him in the gut. Even with invulnerability, it hurt. Not physically, but seeing Annabeth holding back her tears quickly killed any remaining elation he felt over being alive.

“It’s just… I thought…”

That with Rachel being the Oracle, Percy wouldn’t remain torn between the two. It was a pretty obvious conclusion to make. Something a child of Athena would pick up on immediately.

It really sucked that Percy never wanted either of them to begin with.

“You’re my best friend… I don’t see you… It’s not you… there’s someone else, okay?” Percy exclaimed, tired of all the clichéd lines he was spouting. Annabeth was a direct person, he needed to be direct with her.

“Is it—”

“It’s not Rachel,” he sighed. The two of them got along swimmingly now that there was no competition. He didn’t want them to devolve back to petty bickering. “I’m… I like Nico.”

He looked down, ready for another punch.

Instead, Annabeth laughed.

He looked at her, she was still crying, and the sound was combined with sobs.

“Of-of course. I should have known,” Annabeth sniffed, but gave him a genuine smile. Percy relaxed, and she took the chance to punch him again. “You could have told me, Seaweed Brain! I probably looked so ridiculous all along.”

“You… You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be?” She was still smiling. Percy thought it looked a little forced. “Embarrassed? Sure. Heartbroken? Absolutely… but you’re still my best friend. I’m not mad at you for not liking me back.”

“I’m still sorry. If it helps any, I definitely think you can do better than me.”

Annabeth laughed, far more honestly this time.

“I can’t wait to meet someone better than the Hero of Olympus.”

They stayed a little longer underwater, until they were sure the other campers had gone away, bored of waiting for them to come back up.

* * *

The next day the camp was bursting with activity. Eight unclaimed children already knew their godly parent, and plans for the new cabins were being made left and right.

One of them was Nico, who seemed to be using a notebook to design his father’s cabin. A few skeleton warriors were gathered around him with hammers and measuring tapes instead of weapons.

Percy sneaked behind him to look at his work.

“Are those… coffin beds?” Nico jumped and looked at him. He relaxed and nodded.

“Kinda. The design is supposed to look like one, but it has no lids. My dad is a major god. He needs a cabin that reflects his realm. Your cabin already looks like a bungalow, and Demeter has all these flowers on the roof. Hades should have something like that,” He rambled excitedly. Percy laughed awkwardly.

“It’s just… the beds might make people think you’re a vampire wannabe or something,” Percy said. He was sure in a few months Nico would be mortified over his décor choice. “Maybe you could just… decorate with gems or some underground ore.”

“Isn’t that a little arrogant, though? I don’t want people thinking Hades kids are a bunch of rich snobs,” He said. However he did put a big question mark over the bed sketch. Percy sighed in relief. “So, what’s up? Did you come here just to criticize my beds?”

“Ah, no… um… we need to talk,” he said. Nico nodded and put all his attention on him, waiting. Percy glanced at the skeletons staring at him with their empty eye sockets. “In private?”

Nico chuckled and waved his hand. The undead soldiers began dispersing. One waved at him and pointed at its missing rib. He smiled and waved back.

It was good to know at least one of the people keeping him safe made it through. Even if it was a living skeleton.

“You seem more at ease… happier,” Percy started. Nico shrugged.

“It’s nice to have a place where you belong,” he said simply. Percy couldn’t help but agree. "So, what is so important that you're delaying my construction plans?"

_“Okay, this is easy, just say ‘Nico, I like you’.”_

“Nico… Annabeth and I aren’t dating,” he said instead. He never wanted to kick his own ass as much as he did in that moment. Why was he such a coward?

Nico raised an eyebrow at him.

“Okay…? Did you mess up last night or…?”

“No! I… I couldn’t date her because I like someone else.”

“Oh, um… who is it?” He said, but the tone implied he was doing it mostly to be polite.

Well, here goes nothing.

“Ehrm… it’s you,” he muttered. Nico’s eyes widened. “I like you, Nico.”

Nico looked at him, shocked. Percy waited for about a minute before the shock gave way to… pity?

Oh… oh no.

“Percy, I… I’m really sorry, I just think of you as a friend,” Nico said, he looked uncomfortable.

He cursed Aphrodite. That witch knew how this would turn out. To make things worse, she had already swore not to meddle anymore, so this was it for him.

“And you really can’t… see me as anything more, right?” Percy guessed he deserved that. He had broken Annabeth’s heart, Aphrodite made sure Nico broke his.

Percy should have been used by then to be a plaything of the gods, but it didn’t make this situation hurt any less.

“I… I don’t know, Percy,” was Nico’s only answer. A bit of (empty) hope that something could eventually change.

It still hurt him like an arrow to the heart.

“I see…” he turned around. He really didn't feel like looking at him any more.

“If I'm being completely honest,” Nico said behind him. His voice was soft, regretful. Percy hated it. “I have forgiven you, but… when I see you, I can’t help but think of Bianca.”

Percy winced.

“I understand.” He gave a step away from Nico, fully intending to make a run for it.

“You don’t!” He exclaimed. “You’re my only reminder of Bianca. I don’t want to lose you. I think of you as family. We’re cousins.”

“On the godly side,” he felt like pointing out. Because if they counted that, Annabeth was his cousin once removed, Silena was Beckendorf’s stepsister, and way more familial relationships that made his head hurt. Everyone knew your godly side didn’t count.

“Let me finish. Just… can we try being just friends? If things change, you’ll be the first to know, I promise.”

Percy looked at him. Nico looked desperate. He knew Nico was being sincere about not wanting to lose him. He guessed he looked the same the night before with Annabeth.

But he also knew it was pointless anyways. Aphrodite had tricked him again. She wouldn’t interfere, and nothing would change Nico’s feelings towards him.

He still offered Nico his hand.

He was such a glutton for punishment.

“Friends.”

It was better than nothing. One day, the hole in his chest might turn into a dull ache. One day he would get over Nico di Angelo.

It may sound selfish and self-centered, so maybe Hades was right all along, but he still wanted to keep Nico by his side for as long as this “moving on” thing took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Oops?
> 
> Sorry, Percy, ~~only not really,~~ but Nico had to endure all of HoO with having his feelings unrequited, so you must endure as well.
> 
> Originally, Percy didn't confess quite yet, but I realized that he's the type of person to be open about these things if there are no hang-ups (Nico's hang-ups in canon were self-hatred and Annabeth, Percy only had "I may die at the end of this", which is already resolved), _and_ it allows me some interesting paths to take in HoO, which I won't separate by book, but rather by what Percy feels towards Nico up until something changes in their relationship. So, SoN may have more chapters in this rewrite than say, MoA.
> 
> Next time, we _won't_ be moving onto HoO. Instead, we have what I call an "Interlude". Pieces that are from another character's PoV to enrich Percy's story. So, see you next time with "Interlude: Nico di Angelo"! How soon that happens depends entirely on feedback, so please, leave a comment if you can!


	5. Interlude: Nico di Angelo, First Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, this chapter did not want to be written. Anyways, here's the first of 3 (if everything goes according to plan) interludes. This one deals with Nico's thoughts and feelings during PJO, and also why, in this AU, he's not in love with Percy (kinda, more of that in the second interlude, but that one's still a few chapters away).
> 
> Enjoy!

Nico di Angelo had been an outcast for as long as he could remember.

He was the Mythomagic kid, the freak, the loner who had either weird rumors going around concerning his sister, or much more accurate rumors concerning how he looked at other boys in the lockers.

He didn’t know why he expected Camp Half-Blood to be any different.

The only kids who tried to talk to him were the Stoll brothers, who wanted to rob him blind, and Percy Jackson, currently on a quest protecting his sister.

It was not lack of effort, either. Nico had tried showing off his rare cards, he even had offered a spare deck so others could learn to play, but was met with the same blank looks his classmates from Westover used to give him. He did fine in things like sword fighting or archery, but didn’t excel in anything enough to get people talking to him. The only thing he was great at was spouting random trivia on gods and monsters (which was sometimes wrong on account of coming from a PG-rated card game).

He was a weirdo even among the weirdos. The worst was that, this time around, Bianca wouldn’t be around to make him feel less alone.

The only highlight of his day was his talks with Hestia.

The goddess always seemed kind and happy to see him. Being around her gave him a sense of belonging, of being home.

Too bad that feeling left as soon as their meetings ended, leaving him stuck in a place supposedly for people who didn’t belong with gods or mortals. Too bad he didn't seem to belong with them, either.

It was during his second day in the Camp when he met _him_.

He had been walking around, sulking since the Camp didn’t have an Internet connection he could use to go to the Mythomagic official site to play the game online, when a bronze disk had hit him straight to the forehead.

He had come to in the infirmary and met perfection in human… well, demigodly form.

“Are you alright? I already gave Will a stern talking to,” those were the first words he heard from him. Nico knew he was staring, probably also drooling, but he managed to nod. "Oh, thank the gods. Here, drink this," the attractive teen said as he gave him a small cup with what he later learned was nectar.

Lee Fletcher was the Apollo Cabin counselor. 17 years old, blond, blue eyes and fit like a magazine cover model.

Nico had fallen hard and fast for him.

The rest of the week, he had spent all his time by the archery range or the infirmary, following Lee around like a puppy.

Looking back on it, it was embarrassing and absolutely pathetic to Nico, but Lee was a gentleman about it, having him help with inventory (apparently, aside from ambrosia and nectar, Camp Half-Blood needed allergy and diabetes drugs for some campers) and giving him some archery tips.

It was only a matter of time before he screwed up.

He had left breakfast with a panic attack, feeling afraid for Bianca. Something in his gut told him she was dead. He had gone running and crying to Lee about it, and the guy had held and comforted him.

It was during that attack that he tried to kiss Lee.

“Woah there, buddy,” he had said, patting him on the head. “You’re not on your right mind right now. Don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”

That had only spiked Nico’s terror.

_“It happened again it happened again what will Bi say? Last time we had to…”_

…What had happened last time?

Lee had noticed however, and just gave him a reassuring smile.

“I’m not mad or anything,” he told him. “I’m not weirded out or disgusted, promise. It’s flattering, really, but you’re a little too young for me.”

“I turn 13 in March,” he had felt the need to defend himself, hating how his height made him look younger. Lee chuckled.

“Then I’m too old for you,” he said as he continued to laugh. “Believe me, Nico, one day, you’ll like some boy who will like you back, someone closer in age to you, and I promise you won’t even remember ever liking me.”

Nico doubted that, but he nodded, nonetheless.

It would take someone pretty special to measure up to the boy who made him feel he was not alone on the world.

* * *

Nico’s world officially ended 3 days later.

He had known from the start that Bianca was dead. He hadn’t wanted to believe it, and being around Lee had been enough to keep his mind preoccupied.

Percy Jackson broke that illusion along with his promise to keep her safe. He had covered for him until it was obvious he was missing. He had entrusted his sister, his only family, to him. And now she was dead because he’d been too focused on his stupid quest.

He had never hated someone as intensely as he hated the Son of Poseidon.

So why had he stopped the undead warriors from taking him?

Nico was not the bigger person in this situation, he knew that. He was still angry at Percy, so why…?

“Revenge is a dish best served cold, my Lord,” a voice whispered in his ear.

He didn’t know how, but during his running, he had entered a stone passageway near the rock formation by the forest near camp.

He knew he should feel something other than slight surprise at seeing a ghost in front of him, but maybe finding out he was a demigod, his sister’s death and seeing undead soldiers fall through a crack on the ground he apparently made had killed his sense of wonder.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Minos, my Lord,” the ghost said as he gave off a smirk. “Welcome to my Labyrinth.”

“As in king Minos? The one with the Minotaur? Why do you keep calling me lord?” Honestly, Nico had even more questions, but he already felt tired and hungry.

“The same one, my Lord,” Minos bowed. “I only refer to your lordship as is fitting for a Son of Hades, of course.”

Hades…

His father was Hades.

Nico felt like he should have known that, but his head hurt too much when he tried to remember. He tried to look a little imposing, even if his muddy orange shirt and small frame made it impossible.

“If this is your Labyrinth, you can lead me out, right?” He asked. Minos just nodded. “Then do so, near the entrance to the Underworld if you can. I need to talk to my father and sister. Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, commands you.” He probably sounded ridiculous, but the ghost just nodded again.

“Immediately, Lord Nico,” Minos said. His ghostly frame began moving around. Nico followed closely behind. “I feel compelled to inform you, I was a king before, betrayed by my underlings and by my own kin I can be a great advisor for your revenge on Poseidon’s spawn.”

That sounded wrong. It hadn’t been a desire for revenge that had made him save Percy, but…

He needed Minos. He could believe whatever he wanted as long as he took him to the Underworld.

Saving Bianca was his priority.

* * *

Those were the darkest moments of his life. However, it is in those dark moments when people find who they truly are.

He found out at Triple G ranch. The reason he had saved Percy, and Percy in turn had saved him.

They were the same. Sons of the Big Three caught in unfair circumstances, and unlike Bianca or Thalia, they couldn’t run away to become immortal and leave the problem to someone else.

They were stuck in a similar situation, and they needed to help each other out. Even if he was still mad at him.

In the aftermath of the battle, he had mourned Lee Fletcher. The son of Apollo had died defending camp, but he didn’t feel as devastated as he thought he would be.

He would always remember him, but it had been just a crush. Childish admiration that had built for a little over a week and then tossed aside like his Mythomagic cards. Just another reminder of the boy that had died when he heard of his sister's fate.

“The ocean is beautiful today,” Bianca said as he looked at the horizon. He tried to hide his surprise over his sister appearing without being summoned.

“It is,” he said softly. He turned to look at her. “I’m sorry I got mad at you… And listened to Minos… and thought Percy wanted me dead…”

“It’s okay, _fratellino_ ,” Bianca laughed. Nico just looked at her with wide eyes. They… they were Italian, weren’t they? They knew the language, how could he have forgotten? “But I think it’s Percy you need to apologize to.”

Nico nodded, still too surprised by his realization. What else had he forgotten? His mother? Had he actually known her once?

He had to find out.

“Keep him close, okay?” Bianca continued, bringing him back to the real world. “I’m sure you two will keep each other safe.”

Bianca meant something deeper with those words, he knew. However, he had a new goal, a new mission, so he decided not to look too much into it.

“I will, I promise,” Nico said. Bianca hugged him and winked, before disappearing, probably back to Elysium.

Percy approached him soon after.

He sighed and prepared to give him the apology he deserved.

* * *

Percy Jackson was a nice guy.

He was caring, giving and loyal. He had a unique sense of humor that seemed to make everyone around him relax, and an easy-going, magnetic personality that drew others to him.

Nico knew better than anyone that it was a façade.

Percy Jackson was infuriating. He was stubborn, hotheaded, and his nice personality hid away a guilt complex the size of the continental United States.

Percy was older than he was, yet Nico felt compelled to protect this walking disaster of a demigod who had to act as if he had personally killed anyone who died on this war.

That was why he kept pushing the Curse of Achilles on him. He needed to survive.

He was all he had left after Bianca’s death.

Like a scatter-brained older brother who wouldn’t stop meddling in his business by peering through his door (or more accurately, spying through his dreams).

After he had betrayed Percy’s trust by selling him to his father, Nico knew he had to make amends.

That was exactly what he told his father.

“And is that all?” Hades asked him with a raised eyebrow. He had just asked what he thought of Percy, and he hoped inserting some of his flaws into his spiel had been enough to convince him to help in the war.

Nico nodded, tired of talking. In truth, there was something else about Percy, something he couldn’t quite place.

As if he was supposed to be more to him than just family, but…

The feeling just wasn’t there. It was missing.

Hades smirked and called Thanatos.

“Prepare the hosts for battle,” he ordered. “If Olympus is undefended, I guess it’s my duty to clean up after my idiot siblings.”

Nico sighed in relief.

And just in time, apparently, judging by the huge tamed hellhound that came running into the throne room an hour later with a note attached to her collar.

* * *

If anyone asked Nico what was the worst that could happen after the Titan War, “breaking the heart of the Hero of Prophecy” was definitely something he wouldn’t have guessed.

Percy was a good person. Nico was sure he’d eventually find someone else. Someone better if only by virtue of them liking him back.

They were teenagers, after all. Statistically speaking, it was really unlikely that your first crush was your true love.

So there was nothing wrong with Nico being selfish and keeping him around despite knowing of his feelings, right?

Nico sighed. Despite all the big fanfare of building a cabin and finally being accepted at camp, his friend circle was still really small, consisting of just Percy, Annabeth, Rachel and Grover. Sadly, most of them had mortal lives or new responsibilities with the Council of Cloven Elders to realistically stay with him at camp.

It was just too nice to have someone be a constant in a chaotic life, even if less than platonic feelings were at play there.

He knew Percy would probably leave school if he asked him to, but that was too much even form him. Even so, he still spent his weekends at camp Half-Blood, hanging out with him and just talking about whatever monster attacked him or what his teachers were like.

“You could sign up, you know?” Percy said casually as he helped him clean up the Pegasi stables. The creatures still hated him, but Blackjack at least seemed to accept him enough to let Nico feed him one of the donuts Percy had brought. “Goode is not the best place ever, but the teachers are cool and there’s a program to help ADHD kids.”

“It’s just not my thing,” Nico answered as he finished cleaning yet another cubicle. “I already tried the whole education thing once. I think I’m just not meant to fit on crowds with a pulse… that was a joke,” he added before Percy could go on yet another of his tirades about how he belonged.

It was endearing, but annoying and slightly repetitive.

“It’s still worth a try,” he commented. Nico knew the real reason Percy was insisting on him enrolling was his ever-diminishing Drachma pile he used to pay the Gray Sisters for rides to camp and back. “I’ll be there with you.”

“It would be kind of awkward to live together, don’t you think?” Nico asked. Percy cringed and blushed, making him feel guilty. He put down the rake and sat down on the hay by Percy. He patted the spot beside him until he sat down as well. “Tell you what, I’ll visit you as well, okay? That way, you don’t have to ruin yourself with cab fares and I get to explore some of New York, deal?”

Percy gave him the biggest grin he had ever seen as he nodded.

“Sure! It’s a date,” He said with that same easy-going tone that made him question whether the whole confession thing wasn’t just an elaborate prank he wasn’t ready to admit wasn’t that funny. “Just say when.”

He really hoped he wasn’t leading Percy on. He just wanted to make sure his friend was doing okay. The fact that keeping Percy close also kept him near one of the four people who didn’t act like he was out for blood was just a bonus.

“How does Thursday sound?” Nico said, playing with some of the hay. “I need to go to my father’s on Friday, so…”

“Thursday is great,” Percy smiled. If he was Annabeth Chase, he was sure his heart would be racing as if trying to escape his chest.

But he was Nico di Angelo, and he just felt slightly embarrassed on Percy’s behalf.

* * *

Nico di Angelo is a great liar.

He had to be, considering he grew up under a homophobic, fascistic regime that was in place in Italy until he turned 8, when his mother had used her father's position to move permanently to America.

And even then, he was still in constant danger of being beaten up if he so much as admitted the boy he sat behind in math class was kind of cute.

It was all so he could protect himself. Even if they were constantly stressing how much they loved him regardless of his orientation, both Bianca and his mother had taught him tricks to lie, to make others believe what he wanted.

He doubted they’d be proud of what he used them for now.

To use an example, his resentment with both Percy and Bianca had remained with him far longer than he pretended it did, until he had enacted a proper revenge. It wasn’t until he had sold him out to his father that Nico had considered them “even”. Before that, the mere thought of being near the son of Poseidon filled him with dread and anger.

Hiding the truth was something he was good at, but…

“Do I make myself clear, Nico?” Hades asked.

“Yes, father,” Nico said. “No one will know until the time is right, and I’ll keep my cover for as long as it takes.”

He was good at hiding the truth. So good that when his father told him about Thanatos’s disappearance he had gone and tried to retrieve his sister from the dead without him knowing.

Bianca had chosen rebirth, but Hazel had been there, waiting, sad.

Lonely.

He had brought her back and left her in New Rome on his father’s orders, seeing as she was alive again and technically outside of his realm of control.

Now he was asking Nico to keep the whole thing under wraps, and to pretend to be a son of Pluto whenever he was in New Rome.

“You can go back to camp now, and remember what we talked about,” He dismissed him as he disappeared in a puff of smoke from the throne room.

Nico sighed and schooled his features to be as neutral as possible as he shadow traveled back to camp. While the thought of having a sister again filled him with both excitement and fear, he instead tried to concentrate on how much of a chore it would be to become part of the Roman political life, and how much he’d prefer not to be.

Nico di Angelo was a superb liar.

Mostly because he told lies he himself was eager to believe.

* * *

Hazel was fantastic. She was nice, caring and kind. He wasn’t like that at all. He was selfish, motivated by self-interest and closed off even to his friends.

In Hazel, he’d expected to find someone similar to himself, instead, he had to accept the sad truth.

It was not being a child of Hades that made him an outcast. Bianca had found a place among the Hunters of Artemis, and Hazel was doing just fine in the Fifth Cohort, and was even friends with the obnoxiously uptight Praetor, Jason Grace.

With the overwhelming evidence, Nico could only come to the conclusion that he was the problem. He had too much of his father, the Underworld was his only home. Nico didn’t belong in this world…

“Why the long face?” Percy asked as he sat down to his left on the beach.

“This… this isn’t working out,” Nico said and sighed. Percy looked panicked. He really didn’t have the patience to try and guess what was going on in his mind. “I tried, I really did, but I don’t feel like I belong in camp… maybe in the twenty-first century in general.”

“That’s not true!” Percy exclaimed, like Nico knew he would. He was using Percy’s feelings to feel validated. How selfish could he be? “Or… maybe it is…”

Nico’s eyes widened as he turned to look at Percy. The boy looked sheepish as he kept his gaze fixed on the ocean.

Well, that was new.

“Maybe you are right, you don’t belong in this world,” Percy said as his face turned red. “But I think that is the world’s fault, not yours.”

Nico blinked, too stunned to say anything.

“You’re here because the world needs you, your father needs you, your friends need you,” Percy said, looking more and more confident with each word. “And if the world has no place for you despite needing you, well, you just have to carve your own and flip the world off for forgetting to do it itself.”

Nico realized Percy was speaking from experience.

A powerful demigod, a child of the Big Three, who still wanted to lead a normal life, even though monsters would target him over anyone else. Percy still went to school, still had friendships with mortals, still smiled and faced the world head on.

Nico smiled and placed his hand on top of Percy’s. The older teen seemed startled for a second before forcing himself to relax.

“Thank you Percy,” Nico said softly as he looked towards the ocean. “I really needed to hear that.”

“Uh… anytime, Nico,” Percy said, Nico could tell he was suppressing a grin as he squeezed his hand.

All this time, Nico had been expecting a kindred spirit that was like him. An introverted, scary child of the Underworld with problems to communicate.

Instead, the Fates had given him Percy Jackson.

And he couldn’t be happier about it.

* * *

He had awoken that day with a persisting feeling of dread.

He didn't know why, but something about that day seemed… off.

His fears were confirmed when Travis Stoll told him Chiron was looking for him.

He arrived to find the centaur with a grave look as he looked at the black cordless phone, the only one that existed at camp in case of an emergency involving a mortal parent.

Sally Jackson had called Chiron, who in turn had summoned him, Grover and Annabeth.

Chiron wanted to know if any of them had seen or heard from Percy in the last few days.

Nico’s heart stopped as they all answered with a negative.

He didn’t want to believe it. He would have felt if he had… He hadn’t even told him yet…

“In that case, I guess there’s no other explanation possible,” Chiron said. Nico’s brain was working overtime, trying to see if he could feel his soul enter the Underworld. “Pass the notice to all the campers. Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus, is missing.”

He released a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

Percy was alive. Which meant there was no tragedy. His expression hardened as he agreed to look for him using his Shadow Travel.

He had to find him. He had to. Percy was his best friend. His kindred spirit. The person he held most dear.

…In a completely platonic way, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that last line. _Look at it._ Nico, honey, there's lying to yourself and then there's outright _denial_.
> 
> About Nico's age: Riordan is really bad with it. During TLO Nico's 12 according to both Hades and Percy, but during HoO, a year leater, he's 14/15? Riordan's explanation (Percy mistaking Nico as being younger than he actually is) is somewhat irritating, but I took it since it would be weird for Percy (15 years old at the end of BoTL) to be crushing on an eleven year old.
> 
> And so, the reason Nico is not in love with Percy is that his first crush was someone else! I actually chose Lee Fletcher mostly because I needed an older camper who would reject Nico and also help him accept himself. The fact that he died at the end of BoTL just made him the best candidate, since Nico wouldn't be pining over him until TLO (which would make his post-TLO "slowly falling for Percy" scenes seem rushed and unrealistic).
> 
> There's something bigger at play here, of course. I left some hints here and there, but everything concerning why this AU happened will be revealed in the next interlude. Next time, however, we'll go back to Percy and see how he's doing now that he's missing! For simplicity's sake, TLH happened exactly the same as canon, ~~sadly,~~ so we'll go straight on to Son of Neptune.
> 
> As always, comments make me happy, and a happy author is a productive author! (They're the main reason this chapter didn't take an extra month instead of an extra week)


	6. Love can confuse you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Not gonna lie. this chapter is being posted way later than it should. It's a little shorter than previous chapters, and that bothered me. However, it needs to be this way, I can't pad the chapter just to fill an imaginary word quota, and this was the best ending point for this chapter.

As long as Percy Jackson remembered, he had known nothing but fighting and running.

Of course, that statement would be far more impactful and meaningful if ‘as long as he remembered’ didn’t encompass just a month or two.

Percy knew nothing about who he was, why there were monsters after him, and why their attacks didn’t cause any damage to him. He remembered nothing.

Well, that’s not completely true. His mind did keep something in there. His only link to a past he didn’t know about. From whatever his life had been, he only remembered one thing: a name.

Nico.

The name had some meaning to him. Percy knew this. It had to belong to someone important. Someone irreplaceable. Just thinking about it made his chest hurt and his head pound.

A face was more difficult for him to place, but he couldn’t help but think of darkness when he tried to conjure up the owner of the name. Maybe dark hair and eyes, and black clothes… no, an aviator jacket. He seldom smiled, and his touch was cool, but comforting. He wanted to meet him again. Because he was sure he was real.

However, he knew nothing else about his past life. What little he knew, he learned by monsters’ threats and a talking wolf. He’s a demigod meant to preserve the gods and fight monsters, with a curse that made him invulnerable, which he had ditched to enter the safe haven of Camp Jupiter.

Maybe if he remembered, he’d probably have been even more adverse to giving up the Curse of Achilles, the only thing that had kept him alive from Stheno and Euryale, on a weird old hippie’s words, who ended up being Juno, Queen of the Gods.

Something told Percy his life was usually this screwed up, even with his memory intact.

Now he had been interrogated, had seen a stuffed bear gutted and was walking with Hazel, one of the guards he had met when entering Camp Jupiter, to meet her mysterious brother.

They reached a crypt that served as Pluto’s Shrine. In there, Percy saw a vaguely familiar figure with black jeans and a jacket.

Percy could only stare as Hazel introduced him to “The Son of Pluto”. Something about that tittle wasn’t right, but at the very least Nico seemed almost as shaken as him as well as… angry?

“And this is Percy Jackson. He’s a good guy. Promise,” Hazel said.

His vague memory of Nico didn’t hold a candle to the real one. He was even more beautiful than he remembered.

Nico, however, was frowning.

“Nico…” he finally found his voice. The sound of his voice seemed to make Nico even more unbelievably pissed.

“You… unbearable asshole!” He almost shouted. It seemed he wanted to say more, but held his tongue.

Hazel’s eyebrows shot up.

“You two… know each other?” Hazel asked uncertainly. Nico seemed to remember where he was and shook his head.

“We’ve… met before,” Nico admitted as he continued to glare.

Percy couldn’t help but think it was really attractive.

“Then maybe you can help us,” Hazel said, either oblivious or deliberately ignoring Nico’s murderous aura. “You see, Percy here has lost his memory, maybe you could help us with it.”

Nico’s eyes widened for a second before narrowing again.

Percy was ecstatic. Who better to help him with his memories than the only person he remembered? He could tell him so much about where he came from, as well as how—

“I’m sorry, Hazel,” Nico sighed as he ignored Percy. “I can’t… I’ve met him, but I’m afraid I can’t tell him anything he doesn’t know,” Nico shrugged excessively as he talked.

He was lying.

Percy narrowed his eyes.

Why would Nico ever lie about knowing him? He felt a familiar stab in his chest. Something like this had happened before. He just didn’t know the specifics.

Memory loss sucked.

“So, about Gaea’s army,” Nico said instead, pretending his outburst never happened. “Have you told Reyna yet?”

Percy wanted to push, but he knew Nico would never budge no matter what. He decided to humor him for the time being.

They talked about Gaea, about Saturn, who had apparently tried a hostile takeover last summer, and about the giants being reborn.

It seemed as if time was too short while he heard Nico talk. Before he noticed the sun was low on the sky and Frank was taking him to a bath so he could look presentable for Reyna and the War Games.

As if he was a piece of meat.

He was about to make a sarcastic quip when Nico told them to go ahead.

“Wait! I still want to talk to you,” Percy said seriously. Nico rolled his eyes, but nodded.

“Maybe later,” he said. “I’m staying overnight.”

“You will?” Hazel said, eyes widening. Percy guessed it wasn’t that common for him.

Nico didn’t look at his sister. He seemed to have a tendency of ignoring any comments that would require him to explain his motives.

“Go on, Percy. Settle in,” he gave a small smile. “I need to talk to my sister.”

Percy nodded, pretending he was satisfied as he let Frank guide him to the baths.

His heart was fluttering the whole way.

* * *

“So… does he come here often?” Percy asked Frank, trying to sound casual.

“Who?” Frank asked, looking confused.

“Nico. I know I’ve met him before, but I don’t know where.”

Oh, Percy had done more than just meet him. The son of Pluto was the key to his memories. His only link to his past. But he had to play dumb if he wanted more intel on him.

“Umm… not really he just visits some times, and then he’s gone,” Frank shrugged. Percy resisted the urge to growl. Something must still have shown, because Frank got a panicked look on his face. “But uh… from what I’ve seen of him, he’s okay. Even if he’s not like Hazel—”

“And what is _that_ supposed to mean?” Percy asked, offended. Nico was great. Even in his mind-wiped state, he knew that, and even if Frank was the nicest guy around, he would beat him into submission if he disrespected Nico.

“Oh, um… I meant that he’s always sorta mysterious and makes everybody else nervous,” Frank said fretfully. “You know, what with being a son of Pluto and all.”

Percy felt indignant. Weren’t demigods weirdoes anyways? How could they shun Nico and sleep at night?

“What about you? You don’t feel nervous?” Percy asked instead. He could just picture an embarrassed Nico telling him off for ranting at someone who insulted him.

“Nah, Pluto’s cool. It’s not his fault he runs the Underworld.”

The conversation shifted from Nico to the gods and how they became Roman so quickly Percy didn’t even notice. They came back to his missing memories right after.

“So you don’t remember anything?” Frank asked him. Percy shrugged.

“Some glimpses and stuff…” Percy decided it was best to remain vague. “I remember some things about Nico… and for some reason a giant dog.”

Frank nodded sympathetically as they kept talking. Either way, it seemed he was honest about not fearing Nico.

Percy nodded to himself. The guy was alright.

* * *

Nico’s way of avoiding him was infuriating.

The boy had remained at his side all thorough his presentation, induction to the Fifth Cohort and through dinner, but every time he tried to ask about his past or about him he would change the subject.

It only got worse when Dakota, a centurion, arrived and Nico started diverting _other people’s_ conversations that could help him remember his past.

Seriously, what was up with him?

He growled as he led Dakota away to “discuss strategies” or whatever. Percy tried to pierce a hole through Dakota’s skull with his glare.

It proved ineffective.

“What’s wrong with him?” Percy asked, referring to Nico. He could admit he was jealous, but there was something fishy going on with him and his excuses.

“Oh, Dakota is a son of Bacchus, the God of Wine,” Frank explained, misinterpreting his glare. “He has a drinking problem.”

“And they let him drink?! At his age?” Percy asked, scandalized. A part of him, however, was glad he totally would be better for Nico than the centurion.

Unless Nico liked his status… but the belching probably docked any points him being a leader of the Fifth Cohort earned him.

“Gods, no,” Hazel said, interrupting his thoughts. “He’s addicted to red Kool-Aid, which doesn’t help his ADHD.”

They continued introducing Percy to camp, to how the Fifth Cohort fell in disgrace and about the War Games.

“Will Nico be in the War Games?” He asked Hazel as they moved to the starting place. Hazel shook her head.

“He isn’t part of the Legion, but as ambassador of Pluto he’ll be watching.”

Percy nodded and hid a grin.

It looked like he had a reason to show off.

* * *

Well, that could have gone better.

Oh, they’ve succedded, thanks to him, Frank and Hazel, the Fifth Cohort had single-handedly won the War Games.

But then Gwen had died and come back to life, Ares— Mars had appeared, claimed Frank and issued a quest, and roped him into it.

Honestly, Percy was just about ready to drop dead on his new bed and come back to the world of the living in a couple of weeks, once this whole thing blew over. However, he knew he couldn’t. Mars aside, he did want to help Frank.

On the way to his new cot, he caught a glimpse of Nico going towards the Temple Hill.

“Hey, wait!” Percy shouted. He saw Nico tense and quickened his pace to cut him off before he ran away.

“Percy, now’s not a good time—”

“And it will never _be_ a good time, will it?” Percy said sarcastically. Nico’s eyes widened. “I know you. _You know me_ , and I don’t know why you keep lying about it!”

“Percy, _please_ ,” Nico said helplessly. He looked conflicted, as if he wanted to tell him. Percy frowned and tried to think of a reason for his behavior.

He had been mad when he saw him first, then evasive. That was not a normal way to act unless…

Percy’s eyes widened.

“Were we dating?”

It all made sense! Nico was mad at him for not remembering that. Then, because he was mad, he tried to keep everyone from helping him so he could figure out what he did wrong!

Nico sputtered as his face turned red.

“Wh-What? How did you even come up with that idea?” Nico shouted. Percy felt it wise not to mention everybody else was probably sleeping.

“I’m sorry I forgot, but it wasn’t by choice,” Percy said quickly. Nico only looked more bewildered. “I still remembered you! I swear! Your name, your face, I knew you were important to me.”

“Percy…” Nico was beginning to look uncomfortable. Percy paused.

What did people do when their significant other was mad at them?

Without thinking, Percy grabbed Nico by the shoulders and put their faces together, determined to give Nico the best kiss he could give.

Nico panicked and tried to get away, causing the two to fall down.

Being on top of your possible boyfriend was really awkward, especially with him squirming beneath him. He stopped and turned to give him a glare, but the red cheeks and panting made the look less scary and more… _attractive_.

Percy probably had a death wish, because he decided to seize the opportunity and lock lips with Nico.

It was a heavenly sensation. Nico’s lips were soft and plump. So close to him, he could pick up on an aroma of mint and vanilla that was driving him crazy.

Nico, slowly but surely, started to kiss him back.

Before Percy could mentally cheer, however, Nico rolled them over and stood up, leaving him on the floor.

“I… I’m sorry, Percy,” He said as he began walking as fast as he could.

“Was it… was I bad?” Percy asked uncertainly. He was sure he’d remember kissing Nico, even with his memory wiped. That he hadn’t put his whole theory into question.

“No! It’s just… I…” Nico gave him a half-hearted glare. “When all this is over, we really need to have a talk.”

And just like that he moved the nearest tree and disappeared into its moonlit shadow.

Percy couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had screwed up.

Then he remembered that he had kissed Nico di Angelo, and couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face.

* * *

Panic settled in the next day.

He had kissed Nico, and it was becoming increasingly likely that they weren’t actually dating.

On top of that, his dreams had told him to stay put if he wanted to be found by his friends (and he knew the faun named Grover and the blond girl named Annabeth were his friends), and the deep, sleepy, disturbing voice of Gaea saying how fun it would be to break him.

All in all, the best night he could remember turned sour pretty quickly.

Percy shuddered as he walked with Hazel and Frank towards the forum. It was stupid, but he felt naked without Riptide, and with his anxiety through the roof he just didn’t feel comfortable being completely unarmed.

The senators were already in the forum when they arrived, among them was Nico, dressed in a black toga.

A million thoughts passed through Percy’s head. Did Nico hate him now? Would he avoid him from now on? What about Grover and Annabeth’s advice (more like command on the latter’s behalf) to stay put? He needed to go with Frank on this quest or risk the destruction of both camps.

His brain short-circuited when Nico saw him. The boy flushed, most probably remembering last night, but still gave him a slight wave as he sat.

Percy grinned. With renewed confidence, he steeled himself to face the roman senate.

* * *

The senate meeting had gone well.

They had next to no resources, barely any leads and Octavian was a slimy bastard, but something told him he had done more with less in the past.

After that Reyna had talked to him and offered him to be Praetor, as well as something else.

“I’m sorry, but I already have someone,” he had said. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He and Nico weren’t together, but he still wouldn’t feel comfortable as Reyna’s partner in the romantic sense while he was still mooning over him.

As Terminus, the god of boundaries without arms, “patted him down”, he saw Nico approaching them.

At first, he thought he had come for him, but it seemed he was just there for Hazel.

“Be safe on your quest, okay?” Nico said as he hugged his sister. Something about the scene made his chest hurt and his throat to close.

Somehow, he knew it was his fault Nico was so scared of losing his family.

The son of Pluto seemed to notice something in his expression however, as he grimaced and finally looked at him.

“You too,” he muttered. He spared a glance at Frank to show he was talking to both of them. “Things are getting really bad out there. And Percy, take care of yourself.”

Percy wanted to ask why that was directed specifically at him, but Nico went back into the border, running.

He couldn’t understand Nico. He was angry and resentful, then friendly and talkative, and now he was evasive and distant while still showing he cared.

What did Nico feel about him? Why did he act as if he liked him and hated him at the same time?

Percy shook his head and let Frank lead the march towards Alameda and the Legion's navy. Juno had said this quest would eventually lead him to remembering his past.

Maybe with his memory back, he might be able to solve the mystery that was Nico di Angelo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh , Percy, you don't need your memory back, you to watch some anime. Nico is just being _~~Tsundere~~_. More seriously, now Nico does like Percy, as you saw last chapter, so it was time for some more serious romantic development between the two. You may realize Percy remembers Nico far less clearly than he does Annabeth in canon. This is because Percy was never in a relationship with Nico in this AU. His feelings are deep enough that he remembers Nico, but, in canon, Percy only remembers the romantic aspects of his relationship with Annabeth (All his memories of her are of dates or kisses), so with no romantic relationship to Nico, in this AU he only remembers how much he loves this boy, not the exact nature of their relationship.
> 
> Next chapter, we'll wrap up SoN and _maybe_ get a little bit of MoA in (since these are plot important, but Nico is not in them much). I have to make a trip overseas next week, so we'll see how updates go.
> 
> As always, comments are much appreciated. They're the main reason this story hasn't gone AWOL. Until next time!


	7. Love is Ever-present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh this took so long! This was mostly due to Nico not being present for this whole chapter, as I had to give reasons for Percy to think about him until his capture was revealed. The other reason for delay was me not really liking a lot of the writing choices in the first act of MoA, so the last few scenes felt more like a chore than something I enjoy doing.
> 
> Anyhow, I am fairly satisfied with the end product, so please enjoy!

Quests were something familiar to Percy. He instinctively just _knew_ what to do. It was a nice change of pace from the confusion he was constantly feeling due to being lost, hungry and memoryless.

Okay, so he was still all of those things, with a crappy boat that apparently comprised the whole roman navy, two friends who were very inexperienced and a giant and his army ready to attack camp, but at least now he knew where he was supposed to go, instead of just running around directionless like a headless chicken.

The downside was that what few memories he had were slowly fading.

Aside from their names, Grover and Annabeth had all but vanished from his mind. The face of his mother, which he could glimpse before if he concentrated, was now a blank.

Even his memories of Nico from before Camp Jupiter were beginning to dwindle. He remembered his appearance and their kiss, at least, but he felt like he knew more key aspects of his personality than just gloomy and sarcastic before heading north.

Percy couldn’t tell if he would eventually forget everything. He’d remember Hazel, Frank, and Nico, probably, but he was sure he’d forget all the wonderful things that made him fall for Nico. Not to mention his previous friends and his family.

It was a terrifying thought.

They had reached Portland, looking for a blind seer that could tell them where in Alaska was Thanatos.

Phineas, said blind seer, ended up being his brother on the godly side, and also a nasty jerk who had sworn allegiance to Gaea.

He wasn’t sure why the situation seemed so familiar to him.

Phineas was willing to tell them where Alcyoneus was, but in exchange for his services, he wanted Ella, an harpy with an encyclopedic knowledge who, Percy was sure, was too important to give to a minion of Gaea.

And that had been how he ended up gambling his life with gorgon blood. He could practically hear one of his old friends berating him for his lack of strategy, but he wasn’t sure who it was.

It had still worked, though, if only because Gaea apparently needed him more than she needed Phineas.

Percy had been sure he would remember everything if he drank the correct vial, but the only thing he managed to remember clearly was Nico, looking lost and uncomfortable

“I’m really sorry, Percy,” was all he remembered him saying.

Percy felt a creeping sense of dread slowly catching up to him.

* * *

He didn’t feel immediately cured of anything, but his headache from his nonsensical flashbacks had diminished after he drank the gorgon blood, at least.

However, as soon as he met Hylla and the Amazons, things started slowly coming back. He knew he had met her before, on an island… or was it a Spa?

After that first memory, other bits and pieces resurfaced almost randomly.

It started with Annabeth. Intelligent, pretty, scary Annabeth. His best friend, who he could always depend on to have a plan.

Grover came next. Nervous and shy, but the bravest satyr he had ever known. He was even Pan’s successor.

Juniper, Rachel, Chiron. Slowly but surely names and faces started to appear in Percy’s mind, which was racing almost as fast as Arion back with the Amazons.

He still hadn’t remembered more about Nico, but after that first glimpse back at Portland, Percy wasn’t in any mood to rush it.

In any case, there wasn’t much time to dwell on that. The Feast of Fortuna was fast approaching, less than 24 hours away. Percy _needed_ to focus on freeing Death and maybe take back the eagle, not his missing pieces of memory. He needed to focus on uniting both the Greek and Roman camps together so they could defeat Gaea, and maybe get a chance to punch Juno in her smug goddess face.

His memories were persistent, though. He now remembered Camp Half-Blood, his half-brother Tyson, who he had even contacted to fetch Ella back in Vancouver.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t remember Nico, it was just the feeling that as soon as he did, he would regret every single interaction he’d had with the son of Pluto (the son of Hades?) ever since coming to New Rome.

The only thing he needed to know was that Nico was precious to him, that he was in love with the guy and would always be there for him.

For Percy, that should be enough.

But it wasn’t fair to Nico, was it? Hell, it wasn’t even fair to _himself_. He fell for Nico for a reason, and neglecting it was just as bad as saying his feelings didn’t matter.

It would be agreeing with Aphrodite that the feeling itself trumped the reason behind it, and he remembered enough about Aphrodite to know he never wanted to agree with her on anything.

Hazel looked at him strangely as they boarded the train to Seward.

“More memories seem to be coming back,” he said. It was true, but he didn’t know what was affecting him more, the memories of his mother, or the repressed memories of Nico waiting to be freed. Hazel simply nodded, but still eyed him warily.

It didn't matter. He had already decided.

As soon as Percy found a place to sit, he closed his eyes, and remembered Nico di Angelo.

* * *

The dread he had felt in Portland had come back, and had now all but consumed him.

He had kissed Nico. He had kissed him when he had already been rejected. When there was no hope anymore.

He always did that, he always messed up and made Nico uncomfortable.

It had taken losing his memory and getting it all back to realize where his problem laid with Nico.

Percy never listened to Nico. Not really. He had always been in a faraway land where Nico felt the same way about him, and every single interaction they had was meaningful and romantic, when in reality Nico just saw him platonically.

Even after he had been rejected, Percy still acted as if he and Nico were a couple. He was always up in Nico’s space, always hanging around him like a lovesick puppy.

He had probably spent at least a hundred drachma after the war just so he could visit him at camp on the weekends.

It wasn’t that Nico wasn’t worth the effort and funds, but that Percy never gave him a choice in the matter. He just expected him to be okay with it just because it made Percy happy.

Just like he hadn’t given Nico a choice when he had cornered him in Camp Jupiter and kissed him.

He was such a dumbass!

He had to make things right.

Nico had mentioned they were going to have a talk once his memory returned. He had to apologize, and for once in his demigod life, actually shut up and listen to others.

He was shaken out of his thoughts by a huge shadow circling the train.

Well, it was only natural for Gaea to not give them a second to rest when they were so close to their goal.

* * *

Gaea had Nico.

Hazel had said so. Gaea had told her so as a way of trying to stop her from saving Percy from either dying or being captured in a muskeg.

As soon as she told them what Gaea said, Percy had shut down. He just followed along as Hazel led them to her old home and Frank tried to comfort her when she broke down with the mementos of her past life.

Percy, however, felt like his chest had been ripped in half and didn’t really notice the world around him. He knew that he should try and make Hazel feel better, she was under so much pressure, what with Gaea trying to break her, seeing a life that would never come back, and knowing her brother was a prisoner… or worse.

Percy shuddered. He refused to believe Nico had… he would have _felt_ it, wouldn’t he? One-sided or not, he was sure he had a connection to Nico. Many of the dreams he had during the Battle of Manhattan against Kronos were about Nico. Why hadn’t he been aware of what happened, then?

 _Because you have been blocking him since Portland,_ a voice inside him whispered traitorously. _Now you don’t even know if he’s alive._

Why? Why had he been so selfish? Why was he always the one who caused him pain?

He had to be alright…

Hazel’s choked sobs finally garnered his attention. Frank was nowhere to be seen, and they seemed to have given up on making him react. He quietly sat beside her.

“Thank you…” he said. Hazel looked up, surprised to hear him speak. “For saving me. After Ella’s prophecy, I really thought I would drown there.”

There was no inflection on his voice. He felt like scum, empty.

“Frank thinks that prophecy was from a burnt page,” Hazel said cautiously, sniffling. “You will survive, and go back to your friends.”

_And what about the most important one? I can’t go back to him now._

“You’ll survive too,” Percy said. He knew Hazel was afraid that as soon as Death was unchained, it would take her back to the Underworld. “Frank and I will make sure of it. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

It was the least he could do for Nico now. Make sure he didn’t lose another sister.

“I don’t belong in this century. Nico only brought me back so I could correct my mistakes, maybe get into Elysium.”

Hearing his name aloud brought back even more pain. He was always failing Nico.

“You have a role to play, Hazel, and it doesn’t end today,” he said. “I know Nico. What he did wasn’t just so you could fix things. He honestly wants you to live.”

Hazel looked down sadly.

“Please don’t… I don’t want false hope. Either way Nico is…”

“We’ll find him,” Percy said, his voice finally gaining some strength. “Gaea said he was captured, so we’ll free him, just like we’ll free Death.”

“Percy…”

“But to do that, you need to survive, Hazel. Try to stay alive, if not for yourself, then for your friends and brother’s sakes.”

“Percy, are you—”

“Success!” Frank shouted as he climbed into the room from the window. He had brought some spare clothes and wet wipes. Percy only then realized they were still covered head to toe in mud.

As they tried to clean themselves up, Percy slowly started to go back to normal.

He was a failure when it came to Nico, when it came to love. The only thing he had ever done right for him was save him from the Manticore.

That had to change now. He had to set his mind on completing this quest, uniting the Roman and Greek camps, and setting Nico free.

He hanged onto that plan as his main source of determination.

* * *

Despite not being a child of Aphrodite, Percy Jackson was pretty sure he understood love.

He understood what Thanatos meant when he said Death and Love were similar. Neither was fair, they were devastating, yet in their own way, they were beautiful.

Maybe it wasn’t fair that Nico didn’t, couldn’t love him back, but his feelings were no less important, regardless of what Aphrodite had planned for him. He understood that now.

As Arion sped through the water, heading towards Camp Jupiter, the last pieces of his memory finally came back to him. He remembered Bianca, Zöe, Beckendorf, Silena, Luke. All the people who had died for his sake. He remembered his relaxed talks with Nico after Kronos’s defeat before Hera whisked him away. He remembered questing with Annabeth and Grover, and could finally place faces on all the names he had been recalling since drinking the Gorgon blood.

They arrived when the battle was already underway, alongside a very familiar hellhound and Cyclops.

“You have a hellhound called Mrs. O’Leary?” Hazel asked, aghast.

“It’s a long story, your brother knows—” He stopped himself when he saw her face fill with sorrow. He had been so immersed in his memories he had almost forgotten the present.

Nico was missing. He was missing and he needed to get him back.

“We’ll ask him later,” he said with a small frown. A promise to both himself and Hazel to rescue Nico.

He handed the chariot to Mrs. O’Leary.

The time had come for Percy to defeat a Giant.

* * *

It was common that when something good happened to Percy Jackson, a bad thing had to follow. It was like a law of the universe.

In this case, it defeating a giant and bringing the Romans a huge amount of Imperial Gold weapons was followed by becoming Praetor and having to dissuade the Romans from attacking a Greek warship coming their way.

Oh, and being judo-flipped by Annabeth for worrying her, of course. Because while a bad thing happened after a good thing, the inverse wasn’t necessarily true.

“I missed you too, Wise Girl,” his laugh was mixed with a groan.

Annabeth dropped him with wide eyes.

“That hurt you? But the curse…”

“Yeah, I lost it… it’s a long story,” he said with a shrug. Annabeth cheeks reddened slightly as she looked away.

He prayed to every god available that it was just because of embarrassment and not… the other alternative.

Still, she kept close to him during the feast as Percy and Jason told their stories about their respective quests and the looming threat of Gaea and the Giants.

It was a relief having his best friend by his side again. Her plans and strategies would be needed if they were to rescue Nico.

She looked at him in shock after Hazel mentioned Nico had gone missing, asking for confirmation. Percy nodded at her.

“We’ll find him,” he said, sounding more confident than he actually felt. “Thanatos told us he _and_ the Doors of Death were in Rome, so we’re already on the right track for both.”

Annabeth looked at him in a way that reminded him too much of a funeral. He tried not to let that bother him. She was just too logic-based to believe Nico would be kept alive as Gaea’s prisoner.

He needed to have faith in Nico’s survival and in his rescue.

In a way, it felt like his whole life depended on it.

* * *

One of his conversations with Nico back at Camp Half-Blood had been about him praising Annabeth for always having a plan.

Nico had given him one of his rare smiles and just told him something a ghost had said to him while he was trying to convince his father in the Underworld.

“No battle plan survives contact with the enemy,” he had said. “He might have been a child of Athena too.”

“Don’t tell Annabeth. She might get angry.” Percy remembered chuckling. When he had looked back at Nico, he had seemed very interested in the sparring match between a son of Demeter and a daughter of Apollo.

“How many times have you had to improvise because a monster figured out your plan?” Nico had asked instead. “No matter how much you plan and make back-ups in case they fail. They always, _always_ , go askew.”

Percy could easily believe that now, what with some kind of force making Leo attack New Rome with the Argo II and turning Annabeth’s flawless strategy into a mess and being attacked by tar monsters while going for supplies.

As soon as the ship was working again, Hazel pushed him aside with a worried look.

“What is it?” He asked, confused.

“You… you like my brother, don’t you?” She said. The tone of her voice and severe expression told him she didn’t mean it in a platonic sense. For a moment, Percy panicked at the apparent disgust in her face, before noticing it was just her usual seasickness (or was it airsickness now? It was weird he didn’t feel it if it was the latter).

“I… I do.”

“Then I can tell you,” she said, relieved. “When we met Nemesis she gave us a time limit. We have 6 days before Rome is destroyed and… before Nico dies.”

Percy felt panic building up at an amazing speed, but also relief.

Nico was alive, and both he and his friends had a lot of experience with godly deadlines.

If a deadline was given, it just meant there was still time.

“We have to hurry, then,” Was all he said as he walked towards the meeting room. Hazel began walking right behind him. “But… why were my feelings for Nico important?”

“Because I need someone to share my worries with,” she gave a small smile. “Someone who’s on Nico’s side, and who’ll worry about him with me because they care about him, not because they care about me.”

It didn’t make much sense, but Percy understood nonetheless. Hazel had to share the weight of not having Nico with someone who felt the same worry as her. Despite being closer to Frank and maybe even to Jason, they simply didn’t have the same connection and love for Nico they had.

A part of him felt touched at Hazel’s trust in him.

“We’ll find him. Our quest will lead us to him. Both Juno and Nemesis said so.”

They smiled at each other before entering the meeting room.

Percy needed to keep moving forward. Save Nico and save the world. Then, he would apologize to Nico, and move on with his life.

Not only for Nico or for himself, but also for Hazel. For Annabeth and Grover and Reyna and the camps and all those who had sacrificed themselves for him.

He couldn’t let down any of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Percy has a new confidant! Someone who cares for Nico just as much as he does. Let the Nico Protection Squad rise! I'll be honest, I live for Hazel and Percy's friendship, so making them closer due to Percy's feelings for Nico made me so much happier!
> 
> As you can see, this chapter has a big "keep moving forward" message. This is important. Percy has finally identified his failings towards Nico instead of a generalized "I bring Nico pain", and in the future will work to correct them. He's getting there. And of course, there's still the dramatic irony of him not knowing Nico now has feelings for him too. Good times all around.
> 
> Next time we'll be seeing Nico again! And Percy will begin his journey through Tartarus. I'm sure it won't be a traumatic experience for either of them, right?
> 
> Finally, this is your once a chapter plea for feedback! Knowing there are people who actually want to read what I write is a huge confidence and productivity booster :)


	8. Love worries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This came even later than last chapter. I'm terribly sorry. There are many reasons for this. A week after posting last chapter my dog had to be put down, after that, preparation for finals and work were hard on me, but above all the delay was just my dislike for this chapter. It is necessary as we enter the last stretch of this story, but the truth is that MoA is one of the HoO books I like the least, and having to reread it drained me of any energy I had to write. If this chapter exists, it's because of you guys' comments. I really couldn't leave you hanging any longer.
> 
> So please, enjoy, and thank you for your patience!

Percy was restless as he moved to one side of the Argo II to the other.

Five days. That was all the time he had before Rome fell and Gaea secured her victory.

It was a deadline before Nico died.

He should be rushing to his side immediately, yet instead of racing to Rome, he had been in the middle of nowhere (also known as Kansas) trying to get the most obnoxious Olympian to cooperate with them.

Athena had once told him personal loyalty was his fatal flaw, but after failing to convince Bacchus to help them and getting possessed by some underworld spirit, he was starting to believe it was his big mouth.

They had just finished their council about moving to Atlanta to get more intel on Ephialtes and Otis, the twin giants mentioned in Ella’s prophecy, and had even expelled said spirits thanks to Piper.

“Nico would have been able to drive the eidolons away,” a voice said behind him. He turned and saw Annabeth walking towards him. “That’s what you were thinking, wasn’t it?”

Percy gave a small grin, though it wasn’t as honest as he wished it was.

“Yeah,” he said and turned to look at the darkening sky. “I can’t stop thinking about him. What if we’re late? What if Gaea’s just stringing us along? What if Nico’s already—”

“Hey,” Annabeth put her hand over his mouth and gave a small smile. “It’ll be all right, Seaweed Brain. Athena always has a plan, remember?”

She seemed to wince at her own words. Percy decided not to pester her about it. She’d tell him when she was ready.

* * *

His dreams turned from awful to horrifying that night. From getting to relive his experience in the muskeg over and over to seeing the twin giants preparing a show to kill them off.

It only became truly devastating when his dream-self peered into the jar.

Nico looked gaunt, almost dead, with papery skin and his long hair shaggy and unkempt.

Looking at him, Percy didn’t really know if he could survive the five days Nemesis promised he would.

“Nico,” he tried calling for him, but for the first time since the Titan War, Nico seemed unable to hear him. “We’re coming for you, just tell me where you are.”

In the inner wall of the jar there were three marks. Were they the days he had been inside that jar? Looking down he saw five bumps that didn’t belong to the jar’s texture.

Pomegranate seeds.

“Percy.”

Percy looked up, thinking Nico had noticed him, only for his image to dissolve. Instead, he was met with Annabeth’s worried eyes.

“Wha…?”

“I heard you talking, so I came in. You were tossing around on your bed.”

“Oh,” Percy mumbled. “I… had a dream about Nico. I think it might help us on the quest.”

Annabeth nodded and guided him to her favorite place, the Argo II’s Pegasi stables, so he could relax.

“Sorry about the lack of actual Pegasi,” Annabeth chuckled. “Leo didn’t know they usually prefer to roam free, so it’s always empty.”

“So why do you like it so much?” Percy asked as he looked around. Annabeth blushed, but didn’t answer him.

“Tell me about your nightmare first, okay?” was all she said, probably hoping he’d forget he asked.

Percy shrugged and told her everything he saw, and saw his best friend’s face turn from embarrassed to pensive.

“They are using Nico as bait,” Annabeth muttered as she looked at the floor, deep in thought. “In that case, it makes no sense to not tell us where he is. Why hide it from us?”

“He’s somewhere in Rome’s underground,” Percy said, remembering what the twin giants talked about. “They made it sound like Nico still had a few days to live, but I don’t know how he’ll survive so long without oxygen.”

In a way, it was easy to be with Annabeth like this, watching her strategize while he offered some extra info here and there. She was the most intelligent person he knew, and was always glad to have her at his side.

Eventually, though, the lack of sleep got to them both, and they ended up falling asleep by a stable, only to be woken next morning by an embarrassed and slightly panicked Frank.

“Wait, we weren’t… we just fell asleep!”

“Everyone thinks you’ve been kidnapped,” he said. “We’ve been scouring the ship. When Coach Hedge finds out—oh, gods, you’ve been here _all night_?”

“We were just talking!” Annabeth shouted, her ears beet red. Percy silently thanked her. The last he needed was another group of friends thinking he and Annabeth were something more than just friends.

However, judging by Coach Hedge’s stern talking and Piper and Jason’s smirks, they were failing miserably.

The only one who seemed to believe him was Hazel, and he felt all the more grateful to have her along on this quest, especially since she was as worried about Nico as he was.

It helped the two of them immensely that Nico was apparently the angel mentioned in Ella’s prophecy (yeah, Percy could have told them that from the beginning) and rescuing him was a priority for the quest…

At least until Leo and Jason decided to distrust Nico and try to argue not to go after him.

What happened after was… messy, to say the least. Hazel had run away crying, and it seemed Frank was only disagreeing with Leo to show him up in front of Hazel, and Percy…

Well, he had punched Jason Grace in his stupid blond face as he tried to justify himself to Piper.

Not a smart plan, if he was being honest. The only reason Jason didn’t deck him right back was because of Festus landing in Atlanta.

“We’ll discuss this later,” Percy said, still scowling at Jason.

There were more important things to do.

Like finding an ancient sea god with information about Ephialtes and Otis.

* * *

Percy felt frustrated.

No matter what he did, Rome seemed further and further away.

He had taken to try to find a solution to Phorcys’s terrible treatment of sea creatures at the Atlanta aquarium. However, while that was important, he was only focusing so much on it so he could feel like he was doing _something_.

Getting away from the Romans meant going the long way around to Charleston. Trying to escape Charleston meant more energy spent, more time lost, more repairs to the ship needed, which meant more pit stops.

It was too much for Percy. The only positive was that at least fighting together instead of against each other meant Jason and he were on better terms without either of them having to apologize. Even with that, it still didn’t change the fact that time was ticking, and Nico was dying.

In a way, he envied Hazel. The daughter of Pluto had everyone patting her on her back or trying to make her feel better about reaching Nico in time, while not even Annabeth was reassuring him of the same.

Hazel was the best, but she was as worried as he was. Percy had to be the strong one and keep believing they’d reach Nico in time.

“You sure they didn’t want to meet me?” Percy asked Hazel again. The underwater camp for Mer-people was his latest distraction, and thankfully, Hazel was just as happy to help him take their minds off things if only for a minute.

If they didn’t rescue Nico soon, Percy worried he would go mad.

* * *

Percy shuddered as he headed to his cabin.

Daybreak would come soon. The Kalends of July, Nico’s last day, was fast approaching.

His fight with Chrysaor had left him shaken for many reasons, but above all at what he had discovered about himself.

He finally understood what his fatal flaw was about. His chronic hero syndrome, as Nico had once called it, was a part of it.

He needed to always be the hero. Not for glory or recognition, but because he couldn’t bear to let someone he cared about take on the risk.

He couldn’t allow Annabeth to go alone on what was pretty much a suicide mission for the Mark of Athena, he couldn’t let Jason take a guard shift when he was still standing…

He hadn’t let Nico take on the responsibility of being the child of the Prophecy.

Normally, his so called fatal flaw was a positive thing, because saving his friends usually aligned with saving the world. Even now, the reason he was doing this quest was to ensure Nico’s rescue.

But what if a future quest meant not being there for Nico, just like how he couldn’t be there for Annabeth now with the whole Mark of Athena thing?

Could Percy give up his friends, give up Nico, for the sake of the world?

Could he even begin to think that when not being the hero taking on the burden made him so angry and anxious?

He succumbed to his exhaustion over the fight as he pondered those questions, only to head straight into Gaea’s hands.

He was at Camp Half-Blood with Gaea by his side. The Goddess wore a green dress and had her eyes closed, as if she were sleeping while standing up.

“So this is where you came from,” Gaea said, mocking. “When I wake, this spot shall be forever barren. A reminder that no matter if you’re a god or a mortal, anyone who rises against me will fall. This I promise you, Percy Jackson.”

She opened her eyes momentarily. The scenery around him turned grey and desolate, the sun hidden by the smoke of a fire. Orange and purple banners laid in tatters.

Gaea smiled and closed her eyes again. Camp Half-Blood returned, this time with Nico, giving him the small smirk he had come to love.

“It doesn’t have to be that way, though,” Gaea said drowsily. “Come willingly to me, bring your little friend, and I may just spare this one little place, and your little _eromenos_.”

Percy said nothing, just staring at the Illusionary Nico before shaking his head. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gaea smirk.

“Enjoy Tartarus, my little pawn.”

He woke up drenched in sweat before shaking his head.

Gaea would never keep such a promise. Did she really think he would believe her? She wouldn’t let demigods live when they would rise against her. She wouldn't free Nico either, not when he had the key to her defeat.

Gaea might be inside his head, but she was alien to his thought process. She understood Percy would most probably give up everything for Nico, but not that he wasn’t an idiot.

A lound clanging sound interrupted his thoughts, followed by Jason entering his cabin.

“We’ve arrived, man. You, uh, should really see this.”

* * *

Percy had chosen to go with Annabeth until she reached the Tiber. He was itching to find Nico, as Hazel had said he had until sunset at best, but he knew he would be useless, as only Hazel could sense her brother.

He still worried about his best friend going alone in a quest that had pretty much killed all of her siblings for centuries, and the only thing he could do was make sure she was at her best until they had to separate. They stopped by a small restaurant by the river, where the waiter seemed displeased at his choice of food and drink.

Their quick lunch was interrupted by Tiberinus, god of the Tiber, and Rhea Silvia, mother of Romulus and Remus.

The couple was all too happy to help Annabeth get started on her way to the Athena Parthenos, but when Percy tried to accompany Annabeth for a little longer, at least until he was to meet the others to search for the giants, Rhea Silvia shook her head.

“I’m sorry, dear, but Annabeth must face the guardian of the shrine alone,” she said, not unkindly. “Now go! Gather your friends, your role is to confront the Giants!”

“Indeed,” Tiberinus agreed with his wife. “Her path must be walked alone. And you, Percy Jackson, have less time than you think if you want to rescue your friend from the giants. The child of Aphrodite should be able to find him with her knife.”

Percy looked between Annabeth and Tiberinus, conflicted. Annabeth just smiled and gave him a pat on the back.

“Go save him,” she encouraged him. “I have to do this on my own.”

He could tell she was terrified, and that she was using his feelings for Nico to force him to part. It was then that Percy realized arguing with her would only make things harder for her, because he could convince her to stay back.

Well, two could play this game. He bit his lip but nodded, giving her a quick hug.

“You have to come back. You have to.”

“After we’ve been through, you dare doubt me, Seaweed Brain?”

“Promise me,” he insisted.

“I’ll come back,” Annabeth sighed and hit him on his arm. “Who knows, maybe this will teach you how I felt… and how Nico felt while you were gone,” and with that, she was dragged away by the godly couple in their baby-blue Vespa.

Once they were out of earshot, Percy cursed and ran back to the Argo II.

Annabeth still had feelings for him.

And he had just used them to give his best friend motivation to come back.

* * *

Nico was just a few feet away.

On the one hand, Percy felt relieved that Nico was alive and that Bacchus’s idea for Jason and him to “prove themselves” had put him out of danger. On the other hand, Percy was furious at the fact that they had to earn the wine god’s help as if the Olympians didn’t benefit at all from the death of the giants.

As he got older, he began to see Luke’s point more and more.

Gods were selfish and self-serving. They refused to see that demigods fought for them. Because of that, most demigods had to find other reasons to fight for the gods, because they certainly didn’t give a lot to work with. Luke had just chosen the wrong reason to fight.

Percy wouldn’t turn out like Luke, however. His reasons to fight were not recognition or love from an absent parent. He had his mother and stepfather, his friends, Nico.

Protecting them was worth anything, even fighting for ungrateful gods.

He dodged a spear as it landed point first just inches from where he had been. He glanced at Jason, his partner in this whole gladiatorial mock up.

“I’ll take Otis and you Ephialtes like before, or should we switch?”

Percy saw him look at the balcony briefly, where Piper and Nico were, and he realized they were not that different. He thought back to the fight against the Romans in Charleston, and how he had felt relieved to be fighting alongside Jason, using their powers in tandem.

“We both fight. One at a time. Bronze and gold might make them take a little longer to reform.”

Jason smiled.

“Why not? We can take on Otis first, he seems the weakest, but I don’t think Ephialtes will just stand by while we kill his brother.”

“Good wind today,” Percy commented, looking around, he tried to see if Nico was looking at him, but he was too far away. “And there’s some water pipes running underneath the arena.”

Jason nodded, understanding immediately.

Well then, it seemed the sons of Jupiter and Poseidon had more in common than they both thought they did.

* * *

Otis and Ephialtes had been defeated, thanks to Leo’s attack on his ship and Percy and Jason’s team up.

Oh, and he guessed Bacchus had done something too.

As the crew caught up while they were on their way to Annabeth, Percy helped Nico to his cabin, laying him down on his bed.

Hazel had been with them for a while, hugging and kissing Nico, before she also left to check on the others.

Percy had imagined their meeting a thousand times since getting his memory back. He’d imagined apologizing, actually trying to be Nico’s friend, instead of a pseudo-boyfriend the son of Hades felt nothing for. He’d imagined them taking a small break in this quest to just hang out and talk, just like they did before he was kidnapped.

However, Nico was always okay in those scenarios. Right now, the son of Hades was deathly pale, his lips chapped, his eyes dull and unfocused. Seeing him like this, Percy didn’t know what to say to him.

“Thank you,” Nico’s raspy voice brought him back to reality. He wasn’t looking at him, his gaze instead locked on his own lap. “I had all but given up hope of escaping that jar, but then… I heard your voice, calling to me.”

“I’ll always be there for you. You know that, right?” he asked. Nico nodded, giving him a small brittle smile that made his heart hurt. “What happened to you? How did you end up—?”

Suddenly, Nico was hugging him tightly, shaking slightly. Startled, Percy realized he was crying. Forcing himself not to read too deeply into it, he put his arms around him, rubbing small circles on his back.

Nico didn’t let go once he had calmed down, so Percy didn’t, either. Nico started to tell him about his mission to find the Doors of Death and maybe close them down.

Percy gulped when Nico was finished.

Tartarus.

To close the Doors, they needed to close them on both the House of Hades in Epirus and in Tartarus.

That place Percy had only glanced at once when he was 12 still plagued his nightmares sometimes. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what Nico had felt actually walking through it.

“We have to tell the others,” Percy said. He made to move, but Nico just tightened his grip on him.

“Can’t we stay like this? Just a little longer?” he pleaded. Percy bit his lip and tried with all his might not to make any assumptions on Nico’s behavior. That way lay only heartbreak and pain. He nodded, nonetheless, and placed his arms back around Nico. “Distract me. _Please._ ”

Percy wracked his brain until he found a recent story that wasn’t dangerous or monster related.

“Um… so, just this afternoon, I had lunch with Annabeth here in Rome.” He felt Nico’s arms go slightly limp as he hid his face in his orange shirt. For some reason, he thought he saw Nico frown. “The waiter was really rude, though. He was really mad at me for ordering a pizza and some coke with ice.”

He stopped talking and he widened his eyes. Nico was giggling into his chest.

“ _Di immortales_ , Percy,” Nico said, laughs muffled against his shirt. “Could you be any more of an American stereotype?”

“Hey! It’s their most famous dish! Why wouldn’t I ask for it?”

“Because it’s not _ristorante_ food!” Nico said louder, finally separating from him. “If you want pizza, you go to a pizzeria. Any other place that has pizza only  has it in the menu to attract tourists.”

“Well, how was I supposed to know that?” Percy asked, pretending to be offended to distract Nico further.

“Tell you what, when this is over, I’ll take you to a _trattoria_ ,” he said with a smile. “Let the Italian boy teach you how to eat Italian.”

Percy blushed and wondered if Nico was aware he had basically just asked him out on a date, but before he could say anything, Nico made to stand up and wobbled back down to the bed.

Percy rushed over and helped him up. Nico looked down at his body, as if he had forgotten how weak he was for a moment.

“Thank you… for everything,” Nico whispered, the cheer disappearing from his voice. “Let’s go. The others need to know what I found out about the Doors.”

With a grimace, Percy helped him towards to the ship’s helm.

* * *

It all happened so fast.

They had found Annabeth, only to find out she had already fought her way through the trials and recovered the Athena Partenos. As soon as they were in the clear, loading up the Athena Parthenos into the Argo II, the floor beneath them had collapsed, taking Arachne, mother of all spiders, down to Tartarus.

It would have been fine if Annabeth hadn’t been trapped by the ankle in one of the web strings.

Like a chain reaction, Percy dove to take Annabeth’s hand, while Nico grabbed his.

Percy and Annabeth were dangling near the edge of the pit. Nico was safe in the ridge with his hands around Percy's wrist as he was hanging on to the rock, but his in his weakened state the pull of Tartarus was slowly but surely dragging Nico in alongside them.

“Percy, you have to let me go!” Annabeth shouted, desperately.

Percy thought back to his fatal flaw, and wondered if it was actually meant for something like this.

He had three options in front of him, each testing his loyalty. He could drop Annabeth and tend to Nico, still broken by Tartarus; he could do nothing and doom all three of them to Tartarus, but wouldn’t betray either of them.

Or…

“Nico! Go to Epirus, find the doors!”

It was the only choice. He couldn’t allow Nico to go back, and he couldn’t let Annabeth go through literal hell alone.

It meant giving Nico a burden he should have put on himself, but it was the right thing to do. He couldn't allow his personal loyalty to doom his loved ones in the short or long term.

Nico looked at him, uncomprehending.

“I’ll meet you on the other side, I promise! But you have to let go!”

Nico’s eyes widened as he tightened his grip on Percy’s wrist.

“B-But—”

“I’ll come back to you, but you have to promise me! Lead them there!”

Nico’s hand squeezed once more before slowly unclenching. He looked ready to cry.

“I… I promise, Percy.”

As soon as Nico wasn’t touching him anymore, Percy gave him the best smile he could despite his terror.

“See you soon, Nico.”

He let go of the rock and plunged with his best friend straight into Tartarus.

He didn’t let go of Annabeth, who had her mouth open in protest.

“I guess we won’t need a complicated plan to close the doors on Tartarus, eh Wise Girl?”

She hit him in the arm. Percy was starting to accept that as the Annabeth way of dealing with Percy Jackson-brand stress.

“Why didn’t you let me go? You… you had finally reunited with him!” She winced as she said that. Percy felt guilty once more over not returning her feelings.

“I trust Nico with my life,” he explained simply. “I know he’ll always come through, and just right now, we promised to see each other again. Besides… you needed me more.”

Annabeth let out a hollow laugh. Whether it was because of him or Tartarus, Percy had no idea.

Seeing as she wasn't about to say anything soon, Percy tried to concentrate on the dissapering spot of light above them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... A lot of Percabeth this chapter, right? As I said above, it was necessary to explain why this AU is this way. In a way, Percy's life would be simpler if he had fallen for Annabeth as in canon, but certain gods were too noisy and Aphrodite too bitchy. But hey, at least I put some nice, wholesome Percico near the end, so... it balances out?
> 
> This chapter might feel repetitive on Percy's worries for Nico, but that is kind of the point. Nico being kidnapped is driving Percy mad with worry. Because someone Percy loves so much is in danger, he tends to get a little obssessive. The repetition is meant to show how much he's dwelling on it. There's also a lot of talk on Percy's fatal flaw, as I felt it was a plot point heavily foreshadowed in SoN and even a bit in MoA, only to never be picked up again.
> 
> Next chapter: we _won't_ be going to Tartarus! Instead, we'll be having our second interlude. I won't reveal who it will be about, but I'll tell you the title: **"The Dutiful Son and the Golden Arrow"**! I'm actually pretty excited about this one! But a comment or two might not hurt... It might even come out before the end of the year that way! ~~(hopefully)~~


	9. Interlude: The Dutiful Son and the Golden Arrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was easy to write, though I think it could make people think I'm changing canon too much now. This interlude finally explains the Nico side of this AU and fleshes out Percy through a third party that knows a lot about feelings. So, without further ado, let's get to it!

Even before he knew how to talk, he knew everything about arrows. The types of arrows, what each of them did, when and how to shoot one and when to shoot twice.

He guessed part of it was because he was a god, but even so, he was not a god of archery.

It had taken him far longer to understand what the instincts linked to the arrows were, after all.

“Thank you for coming, sweetheart,” Aphrodite said, smiling at him from her mother-of-pearl throne.

“What did you need me for, Mother?” he asked politely. It wasn’t the first time she had summoned him to talk about a love life she found particularly promising, nor would it be the last.

“I need you to show me all the arrows meant for young Perseus Jackson, of course,” his mother giggled as she gestured towards his quiver. “He caught my eye this summer, you see, the little rascal retrieved my scarf and I simply must know what the fates have determined for him.”

Eros nodded and presented his quiver. Immediately, three silver arrows and a gold one appeared before them floating and pointing down. Along with them were two names, one below the arrowhead for the person it was meant to be shot at, and one above the shaft for the object of the target’s affections.

All of them except for the gold one, which had only Perseus Jackson’s name below it.

“Interesting,” his mother said, staring at the gold arrow. “The Fates have decided for him feeling true love, but not to whom…” she glanced at the silver arrows briefly.

Annabeth Chase, Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Calypso.

Eros read that last name with a wince. The boy was destined to go to Ogygia, then. He hoped Calypso wouldn’t be that heartbroken this time around.

“Not many options, are there?” Aphrodite muttered with a sigh. “Between a nymph cursed to never keep a lover and an oracle prospect we really don’t have much to work with, unless…”

“Mother?”

“Show me the arrows that have Percy’s name on the other end, sweetie.”

Eros did so. About a dozen or so silver arrows and three golden ones joined their sisters in the air. Aphrodite giggled, delighted.

“It seems our dear Perseus will be quite the heartbreaker, won’t he?” She said dreamily. “And no less than three golden arrows! Oh, I can just _feel_ the stories writing themselves!”

Eros scanned the golden arrows. Ever since he had been a child, they were his favorite kind. Below them, the names of the targets became clear.

He already knew Calypso was one of them. The Fates always gave her golden arrows. They hurt more than the silver ones when they were unrequited.

Annabeth Chase had another golden arrow with her name on it. He was sure that if he looked around, he’d find a silver arrow belonging to her, too. Typical friends to lovers stuff.

He had expected the last one to be Miss Dare’s arrow, but was surprised at finding it belonged to a new person, a son of Hades named Nico di Angelo.

He stared at the arrow for what felt like ages, wondering how hurt the boy would be by Perseus Jackson. Nico’s matching silver arrow appeared, alongside a lead one he hadn’t noticed before.

Very, he decided. He would be very hurt.

“Something on your mind, sweetheart?” Aphrodite’s voice brought him back to reality. He cleared his throat slightly, even if, being a god, he had no need to.

“I was just mourning this one,” he pointed at the golden arrow. “The boy will suffer greatly.”

“Oh? You presume to know my plans for the boy?”

“Of course not, Mother…”

“I know you watch over this kind of love, dear, but I…” her eyes turned quickly between The arrows before a huge, beautiful smile graced her face. “Oh, yes! This is wonderful! Eros, darling, you’re a genius!”

Before Eros could respond, Aphrodite waved her hand. The name “Nico di Angelo” was etched onto Perseus’s arrow.

“Mother?”

“However, your geniality does have a price,” she continued as she put a red bow around Nico’s arrows, binding them together. “I want you to never let those arrows hit their mark.”

Eros stared horrified at his mother as she waved a hand to send him away.

* * *

There were three types of arrows Eros could shoot. He never needed to refill his quiver, as the arrows appeared on their own as he needed them and depending on the interactions between people and the hand of the Fates.

Silver arrows caused attraction. A slight, non-transcendental attraction towards someone else. Humans nowadays called it “crush”, which Eros found ridiculous.

Now lead arrows, those were crush arrows. They crushed and destroyed love, so a new love could be born. He hated using them, since it felt like he had missed his mark before.

Finally, there were the golden arrows. The arrows he was known for, that made love blossom inside someone. They were passion, desire and empathy, all in one lithe shiny package.

It was rare for a person to have all three of his magic arrows share the same name, especially in the order he was meant to shoot them when it came to Nico di Angelo.

First, it would have been a silver arrow. Attraction and admiration for the hero who rescued him.

The lead arrow would come next, along with the disappointment that always came along with hero infatuation.

Finally, the golden arrow would hit him as he realized the hero wasn’t perfect, and fall for the person beneath the heroic persona, even if those feelings were unrequited.

A beautiful, if tragic, love story that his mother wanted to make sure never came to fruition.

He had never left an arrow in his quiver. He had never refrained from shooting. Yet his mother had a plan for both Perseus and Nico, and Eros was nothing if not a dutiful and loyal son.

* * *

As Perseus Jackson appeared in front of the di Angelo siblings, dashing and heroic as he tried to defeat the manticore, Eros’s quiver began burning into his back. Nico’s arrow begging for release.

If Eros hadn’t been his invisible, inaudible self, every single creature in the vicinity would have heard his cry of pain right then.

He pulled out the group of arrows bound by a bow from his quiver, and found the silver arrow slowly burning up, leaving behind a silver dust that burned his hand. Immediately afterwards, the lead arrow followed her sister’s example, making the burn worse and even more painful.

It made sense, he guessed, that the lead arrow would disappear as well. It made no sense to destroy something that never took root. His thoughts were interrupted by a newfound weight on his back.

He watched curiously as a new arrow appeared on his quiver, this one a dull silver with the name Lee Fletcher almost clumsily added to it.

It was the first of his arrows that he would call ugly, but it would have to do.

Almost resigned, he shot Nico’s new arrow as soon as he was unconscious and by Lee Fletcher’s side.

* * *

After shooting Nico, he stayed by Perseus’s side as he went on a quest to save Artemis and his friend Annabeth.

Eros knew the moment to hit him and Annabeth with their silver arrow was fast approaching, and he needed to be ready for it.

However, his mother apparently disagreed with him.

She talked to the boy, and as she nudged him along to his golden arrow, Eros felt another burning pain sear his back.

He looked incredulous at what his mother was doing. She seemed to notice him from inside her car and just smiled and raised her champagne glass. She had taken on an appearance very similar to that of Nico di Angelo to hurry things along.

Just putting the name on the arrow should be enough. In a few years’ time, Perseus Jackson would be head over heels in love with Nico di Angelo, but first he would be torn between his best friend and whatever Rachel ended up being to him. However, that didn’t seem to be enough for Aphrodite.

His mother was messing with the Fates’ choices for the boy. He glanced at his quiver, already knowing what had happened.

Perseus’s arrow holding Annabeth Chase’s name, as well as the one holding Rachel Elizabeth Dare’s, had burned up.

As things were going, he couldn’t even imagine the pain Nico’s golden arrow would cause.

* * *

He still shot Annabeth Chase with her arrow, and silently mourned for her unrequited love that would no doubt come soon.

With his mother’s intervention, he shot Perseus Jackson at his quest’s end, when he met Nico again. Without a silver arrow to build off, the son of Poseidon fell so fast he didn’t even notice it, and would probably take a while to understand the feeling growing within to be love.

Eros would have been happy to let it be and stop paying attention from then on, but as soon as the arrow hit his mark, a part of him began following the two around.

Eros was the guardian of Homosexual Love, after all, so these two heroes were sadly under his protection.

Even as Eros went around, shooting arrows among divinities and mortals alike, he watched as Percy Jackson looked for Nico di Angelo, he watched him find him, and get stranded in Ogygia.

He noticed with some sadness that Percy’s arrow for Calypso was still around. Of course, Ogygia was not just a punishment for the nymph, but also a test to tempt heroes into staying.

He sighed as he shot both arrows and watched, unsurprised as the dull warmness of attraction couldn’t compete with the fiery passion of love.

Then, the pain.

He knew it would hurt. He had known since the first silver arrow burned. However, he hadn’t expected to feel like he was being torn apart by his own quiver.

He was only half-aware of Percy Jackson talking to Nico di Angelo about belonging, about having a place with him.

The golden arrow screamed and bit at him until he stopped talking, leaving him breathless and spent.

He pulled out his quiver, expecting to find one less arrow there.

Against his expectations, the golden arrow remained, bright and reddish, as if just out of the forge.

With wide eyes, Eros understood what the Fates where telling him.

It wasn’t over yet. Percy Jackson would still have many chances to make Nico di Angelo fall in love with him.

And he would have to resist that pain each and every time.

* * *

Pain changes people.

He knew that better than anyone did.

Unlike his mother, he was changed when he became Roman. He became sterner, representing the harsher side of love instead of just the raw side of it.

This came because of Psyche. His mother’s cruel trials happened during the transition to Rome, and he came to hate her in his Roman form, while his Greek form remained loyal to her.

Eros cared too much. He had ended up married to Psyche in the end after all. He trusted his mother’s plans.

Cupid did not care at all. Love was all-encompassing. It was a force beyond his mother or the Fates’ control. Her vanity and plans had only caused his beloved Psyche agony.

Jackson had proved to be quite the agent for love in that regard. No matter what di Angelo’s lack of response gave in their continuous talks, he still found and took every chance that, were Eros working properly, would have made the son of Hades fall for him. The opportunities to shoot him, and the burning when Eros refrained, were endless.

To escape the near-constant pain of the golden arrow, Eros had turned Roman for a split second.

That was all Cupid needed to fire that arrow straight into di Angelo’s heart as he conversed with Jackson. The red bow around it became a pink dust and floated away. He guessed it would go and inform his mother. 

Eros didn’t return. Distantly, Cupid was aware of the horror disobeying his mother brought his Greek persona, but he just couldn’t empathize. His mother was not only cruel, but foolish if she thought she could control love beyond just spurring its first stages.

Still, Venus would be mad at him, and regardless of his feelings towards her he was still technically his assistant. She had power over him everywhere, and he wasn’t up for punishment.

It would be better to go to a place where he could escape his mother. A place where she was unlikely to find him.

For the time being, anyway.

* * *

Diocletian’s palace in Split was the one place his mother wouldn’t think to come.

While a remarkable emperor, the son of Jupiter hadn’t had very close ties to Love.

It was also his home in ancient times, and on the western side of the Byzantine Empire, which made calling his subject all the easier.

A warm wind ran through his hair as it solidified into the god Zephyrus.

“Master,” he said, kneeling down on the ground.

“Favonius,” he greeted back. The change was subtle, almost imperceptible, but Zephyrus was in Eros’s service, not his. It might have seemed unimportant, but gods were known for finding loopholes to their vows using their Greek and Roman personas, as he had. “I seem to have angered my mother quite a bit.”

“Are you certain?”

“As of now, she has made about four summons for me, all of which I have ignored,” he pointed out. “I must remain here, for the time being, but Love must keep going.”

Hundreds of arrows appeared before them.

“Use your winds, Favonius. Take these arrows to Anteros and Himeros. They will make them hit their mark while I remain here.”

“How long will that be?”

“A few months, maybe a couple of years. It’s difficult to tell.”

It didn’t matter anyway. He glanced at the tomb where Diocletian’s scepter was. He had to come here eventually.

Especially now that Love was back on the track the Fates had intended.

* * *

Most believed Cupid could inspire Love in anyone he wished, but the truth was the he was only an envoy of Love.

Venus could create arrows with Love magic; the Fates made different arrows appear in his quiver. Arrows were formed on their own as people's bonds became deeper. Cupid’s only part was to shoot them at the mark. Shooting a wrong arrow would cause nothing but a ghost pain of being shot at. The arrow would then come back to his quiver.

As such, they were the perfect trial for di Angelo and Grace.

He shot quickly and rapidly. As he had taken residence in Split, it was his duty to test anyone out for the scepter.

Nico di Angelo was denying the beauty of his golden arrow. The one Cupid himself had shot.

If they wanted Diocletian’s scepter, he would need Nico di Angelo to face Love.

“What do you want from us?” di Angelo shouted as he summoned more skeleton warriors to fight him. He shot another arrow at his calf, making him shout in pain.

“The truth,” Cupid said. “I want you to face me, Nico di Angelo. I want you to face Love.”

He shot twin arrows at Nico di Angelo and Jason Grace, making them see snippets of the conversations the former had with Jackson.

“I… It always felt like… there should be more, but there isn’t!”

“Lies,” he whispered, shooting again. Nico di Angelo dodged, making the arrow explode in a vortex of heat and fire. “You can lie to others, you can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to love.”

The arrows seemed to be doing their job, at least. Both demigods were tired. He shot three more arrows, two at di Angelo, wearing him down even further, and one at Grace to prevent him from interfering.

He smiled when Nico di Angelo fell to his knees, with little sign of his prior stubbornness.

“He… I… I hated him,” Nico whispered, defeated. “I blamed him for everything. I hated him. Then he proved me wrong. After that he was like… an annoying sibling. Family, but now… I… still hate him.”

Cupid sighed and pulled out another arrow.

“I hate that he just… disappeared,” the boy continued, making Cupid pause. “I hate that after all this time, he still does stupid things to protect others. To protect _me_.

“I hate that he never lets me explain myself and just assumes the worst. I hate that despite what he told me, sometimes I see him look at other people like _that_ and I hate feeling angry that he’s not looking at me!”

Nico frowned and looked straight at him, finding him despite his invisibility.

“I hate feeling like I’m not worthy of his attention, of his care, and deep inside I know I’m right about it,” he said as he dropped his sword. “I am in love with Percy Jackson, and I hate it.”

Cupid turned visible again, somewhat impressed as he stared at Nico’s broken, angry eyes. The arrow’s vintage must really have done a number on the boy’s feelings.

“Dude…” Jason Grace said, breaking the tension that was building between him and Nico.

The son of Hades turned to look at him with a mix of fear and annoyance, before turning his glare on him.

He had to admit, the boy had spirit.

“Are you happy now?”

“Oh, Love doesn’t always make you happy,” Cupid said, his face kinder. “It can also made you feel sad, inadequate. A rainbow of emotions that no one can control. However, you’ll never move forward unless you face it. That’s the only way to conquer Love.”

His own words seemed to have shaken something inside of him. He vanished, leaving the demigods to their Quest.

He too, had to face consequences, even if he had done the right thing.

With a deep breath, Eros headed towards his Mother, her call still strong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Nico comes clean! Without the main reason for his self-hatred, I think it would be his own lack of self-worth that would keep him deep in denial regarding Percy, but now that's done and over with, so he too can keep moving forward!
> 
> I'll be honest, Eros is how I actually headcanoned Cupid before HoO. Not that Cupid is a bad character, but the story needed a gentler god as a foil to the strict Cupid and the downright cruel Aphrodite. I hope both Eros and Cupid's character voices managed to be distinct enough, with what words were capitalized for each and how they referred to other characters, and that neither was seen as unsympathetic. I also hope my explanation for this AU didn't turn off any of you from this story.
> 
> Next time, we'll be back with Percy as he braves through Tartarus with his best friend to reunite with Nico again! Oh, and I guess he'll meet an assortment of Titans, Giants and monsters, too…
> 
> Comments and Kudos are lovely, they are fanfic fuel, please comment on what you think to keep me inspired and working hard… if you want to, of course…


	10. Love Saves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it goes. I have been seriously thinking about where to take the story from here. Especially with BoO shoving Percy to the background, but I think I have figured something out. Well, that's for future chapters to decide. For now, let's delve into Tartarus, okay?

Percy fell… and fell, and fell.

Even after what felt like an eternity, he and Annabeth were still falling into Tartarus. They were holding hands, as if making some air twirls while they waited for the right time to open their non-existent parachutes.

Percy vaguely remembered something about the acceleration from the fall itself killing you before you touched the ground, but seeing as they had been falling for at least a few days and hadn’t even needed food or water, he could chalk up not dying until they reached the ground to some kind of magic.

Annabeth hugged him and tried to tell him something, but the whistling overpowered her whispering voice.

He’d have asked her to repeat herself, especially if she had come up with a plan, but her expression told him it wasn’t something that could save them.

As they descended further, the tunnel gave way to a cavern bigger than it should be possible. A smell that seemed to be a combination of rust and everything perishable in the world rotting at the same time invaded his nose, as red smoke clouds seemed to give everything around them a sickly pale glow.

He took in everything around him, realizing that there was no way he could survive impact with Tartarus. He closed his eyes and tried to conjure Nico’s image as the last thing he did when he was interrupted by Annabeth’s shouting.

“Percy!” She yelled against his ear. “Water!”

His eyes opened and he noticed the small pale blue line along the black, scorched earth that was Tartarus. It was a long shot, but he had once controlled the water from Lethe. This couldn’t be that different.

He twisted his body so that Annabeth wouldn’t impact with the water and concentrated, trying to make the river sprout a gush of water to cushion their fall.

As they came nearer, the water seemed more and more eager to please him and the geyser came sooner than expected, almost as if it was impatient to meet them halfway.

It didn’t occur Percy until then that the river could be Lethe, and was excited to get back the one person who had entered it and not lose their memory.

With a wince, he let the geyser fall, preparing himself to whatever torture this particular river of the Underworld had for him.

* * *

The Cocytus was one of the rivers Nico had talked to him about. All the dead who weren’t bound to the Fields of Punishment had no regrets, or rather, they had their regrets washed away by the Cocytus, where they stayed, festered and grew.

Souls marked for Elysium or Asphodel could pass through the river and leave their misery behind, while its icy waters weighed down mortals and other souls.

Of course, it was one thing to know all this, and another to _feel_ it.

As he tried to escape with Annabeth, the river not only tried to convince him to give up with a thousand voices, it also supplied his mind with images of a Nico with a smirk as they fell, glad to finally be rid of him and his obsessive feelings.

Was Nico… actually waiting for him? Nico would bring the Argo II crew to Epirus, he was sure of it, but… did he actually expect or want Percy to return?

The whirlpool he had created to keep him and Annabeth afloat started to weaken. What was the point anyway? Nico could keep the Argo safe… he could finally stop trying…

“Percy, stay with me!” someone shouted to his right. He was vaguely aware of his best friend trying to push him towards the shore. “The river is messing with your mind. This is the Cocytus, the river of lamentation.”

He already knew all that. It didn’t mean the river was wrong. Why was Annabeth fighting? What did she have that could be worth all this misery?

“Think of Nico, do you really think he won’t come down here to personally kick your ass for giving in?”

A new image, this one also of Nico. Cute, angry little Nico stomping though Tartarus to fish him out of the Cocytus with a skeleton army in tow to scold him appeared in his mind. It was so ridiculous he couldn’t help but laugh.

The sound seemed so foreign to both the river and Tartarus itself that the voices stopped momentarily, giving Percy and Annabeth enough clarity to drag themselves ashore.

“How… how did you get over that? It was so… strong. Everywhere,” Percy said between pants. Annabeth seemed on the verge of tears as she hugged herself for warmth.

“You can’t let misery stop you or drag you down,” she said, not looking at him. “Beat it with logic, with emotion, with lies, but if you let it win… you’ll lose what you care for most… at least, that’s what Aphrodite told me, back in Charleston.”

Percy blinked a few times. Aphrodite had… helped them? What for? She had already promised not to interfere with his love life, but apparently his life was still interesting enough for her to keep him around.

Still, he couldn’t help but admire Annabeth. He had been aware of the Cocytus and its effects beforehand, but couldn’t do anything, while his best friend only needed some cryptic advice to defeat all the misery of everyone who had ever died.

His powers were flashier and maybe more dangerous, but at that moment, he was certain Annabeth was the stronger demigod of the two.

“If we stay here we’ll get hypothermia,” Annabeth said. She stood up, still refusing to look at him.

“So what should we do?” He asked, somewhat unsurprised to find small cuts all across his hands from the broken glass that made up the shore.

“I’m not sure but…” Her eyes widened. Percy followed her gaze to find a very familiar spider web trap… completely empty. “I… I think we should get moving quickly. Our first step is to look for the River of Fire.”

To Phlegethon, then. The one river Nico told him he couldn’t control.

Joy.

* * *

_“Do you know why gods are only bound to their word if they swear on the Styx?” Nico asked him one day. They were by the training grounds, too tired from sparring to do anything but rest on the grass._

_“Is it because it hurts like hell to bathe in it?” Percy said, knowing Nico would roll his eyes and smile at him._

_“Styx was a daughter of Oceanus, a Titan, but she was the first to show support to the Olympians during the Titan War. Once the Olympians won, Zeus made her name mean something greater. Since then, all oaths on the Styx are binding.”_

_“That’s an awful reward, if you ask me,” Percy said. He always enjoyed when Nico showed that geeky mythology nerd side he had. He was more relaxed, happier. “You saved the universe, you get to become an idiom!” He said in his worst Zeus impression. Nico snorted._

_“Well, some people say her actual reward was changing the course of her river,” Nico said. “Nowadays its stream runs parallel to the Phlegethon.”_

_“So she gets to see a spitball throwing competition?”_

_“The Phlegethon is a river of pure fire, Percy.” Nico rolled his eyes once more. “It’s meant as a punishment for the wicked. All the pain of burning without actually consuming you.”_

_“Wonderful.”_

_“Some people say Styx loved Phlegethon, despite being married to the Titan Pallas,” Nico continued his tale. “Their rivers never meet, but they can still see each other at every point of the Underworld.”_

_“That’s torture.” Nico looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “I mean, seeing the person you love everywhere but not be able to be with them? That doesn’t sound like a reward.”_

_“It was what Styx wanted, though, and it was enough for her.”_

_Percy didn’t say anything. He wondered if Nico had told him that story on purpose, or if he was truly clueless as to what he was implying._

_After all, he had more or less chosen the same “reward” as Styx._

* * *

Percy shook his head as he followed behind Iapetus—Bob. The Phlegethon had been no fun at all, as he had thought. Add to the feeling of burning from inside out a spider monster and a donkey legged valley girl vampire just for that extra touch of “life hates Percy Jackson” that everybody enjoys.

Now they were going to visit some Lady for Death Mist, hoping to hide from Gaea’s army at the Doors of Death. At least that was what Bob said, and for some reason he couldn’t quite place he trusted him.

He could tell Annabeth was scared about Bob, however. Percy understood her, but at the same time couldn’t quite share her fear. Maybe it was about the fact that he had met Tyson, Mrs. O’Leary and even Nico. Creatures and people others were distrustful of, but that had proven themselves true allies and friends.

Annabeth stopped suddenly as they had started to approach whatever place Bob wanted to take them.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“Is it time to stop?” Bob said, sounding nervous.

“There’s something above,” Annabeth said. Immediately, they got closer, trying to leave no blind spots between them.

The Arai still took them by surprise. ~~~~

At first just was just three, then nine, then dozens. They spoke in one voice, and seemed to relish on being killed just as much as they did the thought of killing him.

Which made sense, considering dying was how they passed on their curses.

With Annabeth blind and him bleeding profusely, they relied on Bob to do the heavy lifting.

Yet the Arai were taunting him, making him remember that Percy was the reason for his memory loss, and that he wasn’t as good a friend as he could.

He didn’t understand why Nico would talk about him to Iapetus, though. Was Nico trying to help him out? Why hadn’t he called the Titan when he was on Tartarus?

The questions swirled as he killed the Arai, unleashing curse upon curse on him.

The last Arai he killed had within the curse of Phineas. He felt as the poisonous Gorgon blood filled his body and he fell down, doubled over in pain.

In the distance, Annabeth wasn’t much better, Arachne’s curse having left her immobile as she had been on her giant Chinese finger trap.

 _“I can’t die here,”_ Percy thought desperately. _“I… I promised Nico.”_

“I… I’m sorry…”

 _The demigod is finally realizing his slights against the children of Tartarus_ , The Arai cheered. Percy ignored them.

“Bob… I’m sorry I didn’t visit. I’m sorry Nico was the only one who cared. I never even asked if you were doing fine!” Percy didn’t even know if Bob was listening to him anymore. “I don’t blame you if you hate me now but… I promised Nico I would see him at the Doors of Death… can you do me one last favor and tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t make it? Please… For him…”

For the one person who had given Bob something good about his new life. He hoped against hope the Titan would at least do it for him. He looked at Annabeth and grabbed her hand to comfort her in their last moments.

As he readied himself for the Arai about to deliver a killing blow, he saw Bob turn it into dust with his broom.

With a sigh of relief, he fell unconscious.

\----

As they continued to wherever Bob was taking them he felt a creeping sense of dread overcoming him. Apparently, being poisoned by a curse, then healed by a giant had not been enough. Which each step he took, Percy felt more and more miserable.

He glanced at Annabeth, who seemed to be crying and scrubbing her eyes when she thought Percy wasn’t looking, and then at Bob, who had barely looked at him since the Arai had revealed his role in his loss of identity.

“Thank you for still helping us,” Percy said in a low voice as they kept walking away from Damasen’s swamp. Bob frowned a bit, but nodded.

“I’m not sure if Percy is a friend anymore,” the Titan admitted as they continued forward. “But Nico asked Bob to help Percy. Nico is Bob’s friend… and I think I like being Bob more than being Iapetus.”

Percy felt something warm filling his chest. Nico was always saving him, wasn’t he? Whether it was from skeleton warriors, undead Cretan kings or even the Pit itself. Even when Nico felt nothing beyond friendship for him.

The thought lasted until he met Akhlys.

The goddess of Misery was definitely _not_ his favorite person. She had tricked him and Annabeth into walking towards the edge of Tartarus, where Night was waiting for them.

Annabeth, wonderful, smart Annabeth, had helped on both accounts. While Bob had to go his separate way, Annabeth had managed to distract Akhlys, Nyx and all of the latter’s children. Percy had just followed along with her plans and choked a goddess on her own snot and tears.

That last thing had almost broken Annabeth, sadly. She now looked at him as if he was dangerous, as if he belonged in Tartarus rather than on Camp Half-Blood with everyone.

He half-wondered if Nico felt something similar. All the distrustful looks, the way people moved away from his path… He had never wanted to hug someone as much as he did Nico.

He sighed as the moved beyond the Acheron. A giant stone formation in the shape of a heart rose before them, and below an army of at least tens of thousands of monsters.

He looked at Annabeth again.

Even now, with the thundering poisonous clouds above them giving some light, she still looked like she had been dead for years. While a backstabbing hag, Akhlys did not lie about the effectiveness of the Death Mist.

“Hey!”

They both looked back to see Bob waving at them, the skeleton cat Small Bob in tow.

Percy couldn’t help the sigh of relief as they reunited.

They would need all the help they could get to reach the Doors.

* * *

Percy had known something would go wrong. He just hadn’t known _what_.

Now, with Bob and Small Bob fighting the new body of Tartarus himself while he and Annabeth were slashing monsters that tried tor get past them to the Doors of Death, Percy wasn’t sure if he was okay with being right.

The sound of the elevator arriving stopped his train of thought. Bob had explained that the button needed to be pushed for twelve minutes to bring someone to the surface. With the friendly Titan otherwise occupied with the god of the Pit, the responsibility fell on one of the two.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other.

“Go ahead!” Percy shouted. “I’ll press the button.” He dodged a Telkhine and slashed its head off.

“Are you crazy, Seaweed Brain? I’m not leaving you!” Annabeth managed to say as she stabbed an Empousa.

“You’re impossible!”

“Love you, too!” Annabeth said back. That made Percy freeze for a second.

He knew his best friend. He knew she would never say aloud something that made her vulnerable unless there was no other chance to say it. If she was actually acknowledging her feelings it was because…

“Don’t be stupid!” Percy shouted. Below them, Tartarus had just broken Bob’s broom-spear. “They need you more than they need me!”

Annabeth was strong, she was intelligent, and if this journey through Tartarus had taught him something, it was that Annabeth was the strongest of the two of them.

Annabeth smiled. He never thought he would hate that sight.

“You will go up and that’s that,” Annabeth said confidently. “Because you can’t break another promise to him.”

In front of them, a regiment of Cyclopes advanced.

“That’s a low blow and you know it, Wise Girl!”

“I’m still taking it if it means you’ll go through those doors!”

Before he could answer, a roar overpowered everything around them. The Maeonian drakon had appeared and was destroying Gaea’s army, Damasen on its back.

They watched surprised as Damasen and his new steed managed to hold Tartarus, while Bob managed to reach them. Ichor, the golden blood of the immortals drenched his face and coveralls. Small Bob stood by him.

“Both of you go! I will hold the button,” Bob managed to say. Percy and Annabeth looked at each other.

“I… I can’t leave you like that, Bob,” Percy said. Annabeth seemed about ready to cry, but was pushing him towards the elevator.

“You must, friend,” Bob gave them a grimace. It seemed he had made up his mind about them being friends. “It’s your destiny to go up there, and stop Gaea’s madness.”

Tartarus bellowed as Damasen led him further and further away from the Doors.

“He’ll kill you both… no coming back, no regeneration, he’ll destroy you permanently!”

“Who knows if that is so? Either way, we cannot kill Tartarus, we can only buy you time,” Bob looked at Small Bob, killing a Cyclops and growling. “Twelve minutes, I can give you that… send my regards to Nico.”

“Percy, hold the doors,” Annabeth ordered. Percy did so as she approached the Titan and kissed his cheek. “Monsters, Titans and Giants are eternal. We can keep you both alive. We can tell your story. The story of the best of the Titans and the best of the Giants. One day, you will reform. I’m sure of it.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Bob said, it didn’t seem like he believed it, but he gave a small smile. “Until then, you two say hello to the sun and stars for me. Be strong.”

With that, he pushed Annabeth into the elevator and pressed the button.

Bob winked.

“Hold the Doors closed on your side. They will resist your passage,” Bob said, more monsters approached him. Small Bob growled and crouched, ready to attack. “Hold them—”

The panels slid shut.

* * *

Percy looked at Nico as he tied ropes around the pedestal of the Athena Parthenos.

After leaving Tartarus, Percy had felt too exhausted to even move for a while, but he still had witnessed Hazel fighting Clytius and then, with Nico’s help, shadow-traveling them all to safety.

Now Nico had volunteered to take Reyna and the Athena Parthenos halfway across the globe to Camp Half-Blood.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked. Nico yelped. Ever since he came back, the Son of Hades had been cagey and jumpy around him. He was evading him, almost as if the Labyrinth returning made their relationship regress to those days.

“I should be asking you that,” Nico muttered as he continued working. “You were the one that just went through Tartarus.”

“If I’m here it’s thanks to Annabeth… and to you,” he said honestly.

Nico looked at him bemusedly. He explained about Bob, and how he and Damasen had helped them come back.

“You visited him even when I didn’t. I didn’t even give him a second thought.”

“You couldn’t visit the Underworld without my dad ripping you apart,” Nico said with his usual good natured, mocking tone. “But Percy, you can’t just forget about people once they stop being useful. All these wars have happened because the gods did that. We’re their children, but we have to be better than them.”

“I know that now,” Percy said defensively. Nico smiled at him, and he felt his heart thump loudly.

They stared at each other for a while, before Nico blushed and turned back to his ropes, tying them around him and giving the impression of the Athena Parthenos being a huge backpack.

“Hey, when this is all over, we really need to talk,” Nico said.

Percy frowned. He knew he still had to apologize to Nico, but the words kept getting stuck in his mouth.

“You keep saying that… that we'll talk after this is all over,” Percy said with a pout. Nico chuckled.

“Call it an incentive, then,” Nico shrugged. “We’ll see each other again when we’re successful. Then we’ll talk all we want, like we used to. So defeat Gaea and… and come back to me.”

Nico’s blush reached his ears. Watching him like that, Percy felt like his chest was about to burst and his stomach was getting ready for the Olympics.

“Y-you too. Stay alive and d-don’t overexert yourself,” Percy managed.

Percy idly wondered if Nico was using his feelings for him to motivate him to come back. Not so long ago, he had done something similar to Annabeth, so he guessed it was only fair.

Especially since it had worked back then and it was working right now.

Annabeth climbed the hill where the Athena Parthenos was, Reyna and coach Hedge, Nico’s companions in this quest, following close behind.

After some quick goodbyes Nico gave a saluting motion and made the giant statue collapse into its own shadow, disappearing.

“He’ll be all right,” Annabeth reassured him.

“I know he will,” Percy looked at the sky. The sun had already set as they began their trek back to the Argo II. A few stars had started to appear in the dark sky.

Annabeth looked at him curiously; he just gave her a sad smile and looked back at the sky.

“Bob says hello.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can probably guess, the title of this chapter refers not to Percy, but to Nico and Annabeth. It's Annabeth's love for Percy that keeps them both alive in the Pit, and Nico's own love was a factor thanks to Bob's help. The Annabeth I have written is a fascinating character to me, really. She has inadvertedly taken Nico's role in the story (at least when it comes to the romance subplot) without me noticing, and I really want to give her a happy ending, somehow… ~~maybe I'll give her a background character love interest in the last few paragraphs of the fic~~ but that's for future me to worry about.
> 
> There's also Percy's growth as a more mindful person, but his own rejection keeping him blind to Nico's growing feelings. *Points up* See that? That's why the Mutual Pining tag is now up there. Still, Nico's side of the equation, why he pines instead of pursue, is still a mystery…
> 
> Too bad we won't be seeing that for a while, as next chapter we'll be entering BoO! It will be a relatively short chapter, as Percy is not that big of a player in the last book, but that gives me some freedom to write more on his inner thoughts and how he deals with the aftermath of Tartarus! 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are the lifeblood of this fic, and I greatly value and appreciate all of them


	11. Love evolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, some of you may have noticed a change in how many chapters this story is from finishing.
> 
> Long story short, the plan changed somewhere brtween the second interlude and last chapter, but I didn't change the number of chapters until now.
> 
> With that out of the way, on to the story.

_An infinite darkness opened up below Percy’s feet. From the bottom of it, he could hear Tartarus’s deep laugh, mocking him._

_“You’ll return to me,” he assured him. “Everything returns to me eventually.”_

_Percy wasn’t falling, though. He seemed to be floating above the darkness, until he realized his arm extended up._

_Nico was holding his hand, preventing him from falling into the Pit._

_Suddenly, Nico’s figure turned into Bob’s, and the grip became weaker. As he tried to use his other arm for support, he found it weighed him down. He turned around to see Annabeth, her eyes shiny with tears._

_The tears kept flowing from her face, bigger and thicker, until the person he was holding was no longer his best friend, but Akhlys, goddess of despair. The woman began to heave as she started to drown on her own poison and snot, but refused to let go of Percy._

_He looked up in time to see Bob replaced by Polybotes, who lifted him easily with a sneer before dropping him straight into Tartarus._

_Percy couldn’t help screaming, knowing he wouldn’t survive the Pit a second time._

* * *

Percy woke up in the dead of the night, sweating.

He forced himself to even his breathing before getting up, knowing he wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore.

Frank was the one on watch, looking over the clouds, bored. Honestly, Percy almost found it hard to believe this hulking mass of muscle was his kind, slightly awkward friend, but a look at his face was enough to convince him.

“Hey,” he said, making him jump and turn around, weapon ready. Percy raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa there! I just came to ask if you needed a break.”

“You sure?” Frank asked, worried. “You guys just came back.”

“Dude, I wouldn’t be offering if I couldn’t.”

Frank just yawned.

“A break… would be nice” Frank nodded and headed towards his cabin. “Wake me up if anything happens, though.”

“Sure,” Percy waved until Frank disappeared below deck. He let the smile fall off his face.

He sighed as he let the remnants of the Adriatic Sea’s wind enter his lungs, grateful his friend hadn’t seen his shaking hands.

The Seven needed him to be fine, so he would be fine. They all had enough on their plate already to add Percy’s fears and self-hatred into the mix.

At least at night, when everyone was resting, Percy could rest as well, and let all his emotions flow.

He held onto the ship’s railing and cried as hard as he could without waking the others.

* * *

Percy looked at Leo sigh wistfully as they walked through Olympia while they searched for Nike.

_“You know, my mother did name me after the goddess of Victory,”_ he recalled Nico telling him once. _“I think she thought it would make my demigod life slightly easier if my name honored her.”_

In a way, he could sympathize with Leo. He had heard from Annabeth (who had heard from Piper, who had heard from Hazel) about Leo’s visit to Ogygia. He could understand the longing, the wistfulness.

He had felt it after he left Calypso’s island, but now, with Nico so far away, putting himself in danger… it felt a thousand times worse.

He caught Leo glaring at him. Percy could only imagine why. He still felt guilt over Calypso, over not checking if the gods had kept their promise, and now she had to fall in love again, and be heartbroken again.

“You’re staring at me as if you want to kill me, dude,” he pointed out. Leo yelped and looked away.

“Um, sorry,” was all he said. Percy sighed. They were about to try to defeat victory (what next, cheer up the sadness?) it wouldn’t do to have the two of them at odds.

“Okay, we really need to talk,” Percy said. Leo made to skip a rock over water. Percy called it back with his powers, both to try to keep focused and to make Leo stop ignoring him.

“Well, maybe we _should_ talk, but not—”

Whatever he was going to say went interrupted by the cry of an eagle who landed right in front of them, turning into Frank. Hazel, on Arion’s back, followed soon after.

Percy just hoped against hope Nike did not exploit this small wedge between them.

Percy was aware of nearly all his faults, all his mistakes.

Now that he was aware, he just needed to make amends.

* * *

Being aware you’re in a dream is no help when you’re in Dream Tartarus.

Percy was oddly aware that the path he was walking was fake, that he felt way too unmiserable and unpoisoned to be walking towards Akhlys.

Still, that didn’t change the anxiety he felt as he waited for his dream self to meet Despair. He saw the poisonous flowers and the rock near the edge of the cliff. However, on top of the rock was a different figure crying, that of Nico di Angelo.

Percy’s dream-self rushed towards Nico. His chest felt the familiar pain he had experienced when Nico had been held captive.

When he approached and touched him, Nico stopped crying, or rather, it was like he had never been crying at all. If anything, he looked flustered.

“You… you’re not Thalia,” Nico said dumbly.

“Nico, are you real?” Percy felt too shocked to even pay attention to the fact that Nico was looking for someone else.

“I’m no child of Hypnos, but I know how to dream-walk,” Nico said, huffing. Percy couldn’t help but laugh. Nico looked around, noticing their surroundings. “Does it still torment you?” He asked softly.

Percy’s mirth died instantly as he remembered where his dream was taking place. He wanted to lie to Nico, but without realizing, he was already nodding.

“I made terrible things down here,” Percy said. “Bob, Damasen… they sacrificed themselves so I could live, I almost killed a goddess, even Annabeth is afraid of me now. I… I was just another one of the monsters in Tartarus.”

Nico frowned before suddenly hugging him tightly. Percy felt his chest fluttering.

“You are not a monster,” Nico said. “You’re powerful, you can be scary, but you’re also loyal, kind and kind of childish, with a ridiculous sense of humor.”

“Uh… are you trying to cheer me up or insult me?”

“Shut up,” Nico muttered. “My point is, it’s okay to have those dark moments, but you need to remember the good in you too, or else you’ll forget you even have it.”

Nico let him go and gave his clothes a few pats to rid them of dream dust.

“Remember that, okay? I need to reach the Hunters of Artemis before Reyna or Coach Hedge wake me up.”

“Wait!” Percy shouted as Nico turned to walk away. Unlike a normal dream, Nico did hear him and turned around, looking at him expectantly. “Does this mean it’s okay to just hug you when we meet again?”

If anything, the question was worth it just to see Nico sputter for nearly twenty seconds.

“In your dreams, Percy Jackson!”

* * *

Percy fumed as he watched Annabeth and Piper go on their own to retrieve one of the ingredients for the cure for death Nike had told them about. He had been against the two of them going alone, of course, but Annabeth was nothing if not stubborn, and Piper was not that far behind.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Frank asked as he sat beside him. Percy huffed. “Look, I know you’re worried about her, but you know she can do this.”

“I know that,” was all he said. He didn’t dare to say what really made him mad. That Annabeth had pretty much avoided him ever since their return from Tartarus. That she had preferred going with Jason and Piper to Ithaca and not go with them to Olympia, and they had stayed far away from each other every other time in the ship.

“I know it’s not my place to say it but… just give her time, okay? You’re both just starting to feel fine again after going through literal hell.”

“Yeah, he’s right,” Leo said, joining the conversation. Since their small adventure in Olympia, it seemed most of the air had cleared between them. “You guys are just going through a bit of a rough spot, you can’t expect to be all mushy like nothing happened.”

“It wouldn’t be that bad if she just talked to me, instead of… wait, what do you mean, _mushy_?”

“You know, mushy,” Leo said as he made kissy faces at him. Frank grimaced, but it didn’t look like he disagreed. “It’s frustrating, I know, but you guys never seemed like the type for PDA anyways.”

“We aren’t—”

“Yeah, you’ll be back to normal before you know it,” Frank said as he nodded along.

“Thanks, but we really—”

“Sucking face like the world’s gonna end. Which, spoiler, it’s a possibility.”

“GUYS!” Percy yelled, making the both of them look at him. He sighed in relief. “Annabeth and me… it’s not like that.”

Both their faces turned skeptical.

“I mean it,” Percy said. “Annabeth and I are just friends. Nothing more.”

“But you… want it to be more, right?” Frank asked. Percy rolled his eyes.

“Can’t a guy and a girl be best friends without people thinking they’re in love?” He asked no one in particular. Of course, Annabeth did have feelings for him (once, maybe not anymore after Tartarus), but that was not his story to tell. “Besides, I like… someone else.”

Frank’s eyes widened. He looked more sympathetic towards him, while Leo turned suspicious.

“Oh yeah? Who? Someone we know?” Leo asked as he frowned at him. Percy sighed.

“Yeah, someone you _both_ know.” Leo only huffed, seemingly unaware of the fact that Frank _hadn’t_ met Calypso. With a small breath, Percy decided just to come out and say it. “ _He’s_ a pretty nice guy, even if he sometimes tries to downplay it.”

He waited for what seemed like hours before Leo’s shout of “WHAT” broke the silence. Percy and Frank both stared at him unimpressed. Leo fake-coughed into his hand and smiled.

“So… you like—”

“I like both,” he said before Leo could embarrass himself again. “I just happen to like a guy right now.” Or for the rest of his life, if Aphrodite had really meant her promise.

There was also the fact that the guy didn’t like him back, but hey, he was working on it.

“Um… it’s cool, nothing wrong with that, right, Leo?”

“Uh, yeah! It’s cool! Just… surprising, you know?”

Percy chuckled at their awkwardness.

“Believe me, I know.”

* * *

Percy breathed heavily as he tried to recover.

Their journey had taken them to face Polybotes a second time, alongside Percy’s long lost sister Kymopoleia (Kym for short). She had decided to help them after Jason promised her praise and recognition from both camps, and now they were catching their breaths as Percy recovered from the giant’s poison.

It was a small blessing Jason had promised to spare the rest of the crew the details of their ordeal. From Percy being the one that needed saving to believing he deserved to die for what he did to Akhlys in Tartarus.

“If Annabeth hadn’t stopped me…”

“But she did,” Jason said. “That’s another thing friends do for each other.”

He had to smile at that. It was the first time someone correctly labeled his relationship to Annabeth.

“I’m not even sure if she _wants_ to keep being friends after what I did.”

“I’m sure she does,” Jason said, smiling. “I don’t know her as well as you do, but she’s definitely trying to cope with things her own way. Give it time.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but patience is not one of my virtues, bro.”

They laughed briefly before talking about what Jason had decided to do for Kym and every minor god.

The task seemed daunting, almost impossible, but Jason seemed determined to make it work.

_Pontifex Maximus_. In Percy’s mind, it didn’t fit someone as athletic and jock-like as Jason, but his eyes showed he was decided, and he could actually picture him going around building shrines and temples for the gods with that conviction.

Jason’s wound from Ithaca seemed to have healed with his decision, which made it even easier to accept.

“Well, we should get back to the ship. The others must be worried,” Percy commented.

“Hey.” Jason scratched the back of his head, seeming unsure. “I know it’s not my place to say anything but, I think you should just be honest.”

“Hm? With Annabeth?” He asked, perplexed.

“With Nico,” Jason clarified. Percy’s eyes widened. Had Jason figured it out? “I think you both need to be honest with each other, and Olympus knows Nico won’t take the first step. Ever.”

Percy laughed. Jason was about a year late on that. But then again, a lot had changed in a year. It was only fair to Nico to talk to him now that he had figured so many things out about their relationship.

“Yeah, I think I will.”

* * *

Mykonos hadn’t been very high on the list of places he had expected Annabeth to finally talk to him, but he wasn’t complaining.

She had actually offered herself and Percy as scouts to go to the town and gather some supplies while Leo worked on the ship.

The walk there had begun like all their recent interactions, awkward and filled with silence. Every attempt to start a conversation was met with either “yes”, “no” or “Now’s not the time, Percy.”

She hadn’t even commented when he asked about the island’s architecture! What was he supposed to do?

As they reached the town’s Italian neighborhood, Annabeth finally broke.

“I’m still really mad at you,” she said, not looking at him. “What you did back in the Pit… it scared me, Percy.”

“I know… I’m sorry.”

“I tried to reason with it. We were in a difficult situation. There was no other choice. We were tired and irrational,” Annabeth listed off. “My mind countered every argument. You did it once, nothing stops you from doing it again.”

“I—”

“But… I also learned that trying to be logical about emotions isn’t healthy,” she said. “My first arguments were emotional, I wanted to come to terms with it. I wanted us to keep being friends. Being logical just ruined that.”

“Annabeth…” Percy didn’t know what to say. She looked so tired. “I have always been honored to be your friend. You’re about 60% of the reason I didn’t die back when I was twelve.”

She didn’t say anything, Percy took it as a sign to continue.

“Being smart and logical, that’s just who you are. I won’t say you can’t be annoying or patronizing, but it’s what makes you my best friend.” He lightly touched her arm. She didn’t reject him. “Last year, when you told me you liked me… well, I didn’t know what to do. To me it wasn’t like you, it wasn’t _reasonable_ for you to like me.”

“You always sell yourself short, Seaweed Brain,” she said, smiling.

“And for a while, things were weird between us,” he continued, ignoring her. “I really wanted us to be friends again, to move past that. But both of us needed to want that. It took nearly a month for us to talk normally again.”

“Same with Tartarus,” she muttered, blinking a couple of times before giving him a more honest smile. She gave him a small, painless punch on the arm. “How can I keep calling you Seaweed Brain when you keep getting deep like that?”

Percy laughed. They entered a Gelato shop to bring something sweet for everyone at the Argo II while Annabeth told him about her time in Sparta with Piper.

The Italian dessert made him think of Nico, and of his promise to visit an Italian restaurant.

Yeah, for a relationship to move forward, both parts needed to want the same.

“Hey, Annabeth?”

* * *

Percy had never felt like such a useless idiot.

He was the universe’s practical joke, Perseus Jackson! While Annabeth had been injured in her thigh courtesy of a giant, his blood had dropped because he didn’t stop to notice his bleeding nose. How _heroic_ …

But wait, there’s more! Not only was he mostly worthless in the fight protecting Camp Half-Blood, one of his friends had ended up dying to save them once again!

It was never Percy.

Somehow, it felt like it should be him.

Annabeth and Jason noticed though, and nagged him non-stop for hours until he surrendered.

It made for an adequate replacement for Nico, who was so busy running around, helping with funeral rites and looking so drained he hadn’t had the opportunity to properly talk to Percy.

Instead, he used the time they now had to talk properly his mom, even if only by phone.

They both had cried (and yeah, Percy could admit he bawled like a baby when he talked to his mom) and Percy had recounted a heavily edited version of his quest for her. She was mad at him, but, as always, had only asked him to come home as soon as possible with a smile.

Paul had been the harsh one, telling him off for worrying him and Sally, and promising an exemplary punishment to make up for it.

After having to face unbeatable giants, monsters and the Earth itself, Percy was just glad to be alive to be grounded.

But putting all of that aside, things were changing for the better.

Piper and Reyna seemed on better terms, as did Greeks and Romans in general. There was now a friendly rivalry where before only hostility had existed.

Annabeth had taken her role as the de facto Camp Leader, which was just as well, since Percy was happy just following his best friend’s orders.

Unfortunately, one of said orders (to scout for any weapons or fallen demigods that might have fallen into the lake or the beach) had led him to his least favorite goddess.

Aphrodite was frowning as she stared at the beach, wearing an elegant Black dress and hat, with her black hair flowing and giving Percy the impression of having stepped into a perfume commercial.

“What do you want?” He asked, frowning. For once Aphrodite seemed to match her mood.

“I’m mourning Love, Percy Jackson,” She said as she turned to look at him. “You were to be my masterpiece. The one demigod who, without being my child, would understand Love to its fullest.”

“I may fight for the gods, but I’m not yours,” Percy said. “What you want is not my priority.”

Aphrodite gave out a humorless laugh.

“You’re not the only one with that mindset,” she muttered. She looked intently into his eyes for a few seconds. “I guess Zeus was right.”

“Huh?”

“The Fates are three, and their choices infinite. Even we gods cannot meddle with that.” She turned towards Percy, who looked at her bemusedly. “There is more than one divinity of Love, After all.”

She turned around, but instead of miserable, now she only looked slightly bummed.

“Farewell, Percy Jackson,” She said. “May love always be with you.”

* * *

It was the day before the Romans were to return to Camp Jupiter, and Camp Half-Blood seemed a little somber.

For the heroes that had left, for the ones that would be leaving soon.

Annabeth was with him, making plans as always, when he saw a dark figure passing by.

He looked jealously as Nico walked alongside Will Solace, who had an arm around Nico. He wondered what had changed that made Nico not try to escape from touch. It had taken him months for Nico to allow him just to graze him…

“Go already, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth told him, bringing him back to his body.

He knew he had been stalling. Talking to Nico one on one again was intimidating, and he dreaded what would happen after.

“If you don’t go on your own, I’ll kick you down this hill and into him,” Annabeth threatened.

“All right, all right,” he said, raising his arms in surrender. He gave a deep breath and looked at Annabeth one last time. “Wish me luck.”

A relationship could only evolve, only move forward, if both parts agreed to it.

“Hey, Nico!”

Right now, it was time to move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we're (almost) finished with the BoO storyline. If anyone has followed me on Tumblr for a while, then you know BoO is my least favorite book of the series. One of my complaints is how the characters just meander about so all the plots can get to the climax at the same time, but I used it to my advantage to get some scenes between Percy and the crew of the Argo II (no Piper, sadly, but to be fair canon didn't give me much chance to make them interact, either) and to show how he in particular deals with Tartarus.
> 
> Annabeth stays my favorite character to write for in this AU. Reading BoO, it felt like she and Percy should have been in conflict over Tartarus and Percy's power. But of course, that would mean they aren't the perfect couple, and we can't have that, so instead we have two characters that act as if they were having relationship problems when apart while being the same high school sweethearts as always whenever they're together. It feels… disconnected, hence the subplot of Annabeth and Percy being estranged.
> 
> Not a lot of Nico this chapter, but that was by design. They needed some time apart so Percy could see the bigger picture. To make up for it, next time, we'll have our last interlude, as we get to see Nico's side of HoO and resolve the plot thread of his pending talk with Percy (kinda).
> 
> As always, comments and kudos fill me with motivation, and I'm really grateful for them. I want to hear from you and what you thought. Until next time, stay wonderful!


	12. Interlude: Nico di Angelo, Last Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual with fanfic delays, real life got in the way of this chapter. However, after nearly two months here it is! Enjoy Nico's thoughts through this version of HoO!

Nico honestly couldn’t tell when his feelings for Percy Jackson had changed.

At first, he was the hero that saved him, and then he was the hero that couldn’t save his sister. After that… well, things got a little complicated.

A killer by negligence, a clingy atoner, an annoying friend, a sibling-like figure. Percy had gone through every possible descriptor in his mind, and yet none of them had really fit the son of Poseidon when describing his relationship to Nico.

After he had confessed, Nico tried to imagine him as a boyfriend, but that title felt wrong too. There was no spark, no attraction to Percy Jackson. Oh, he was cute, all right (Nico wasn’t blind), but he had felt nothing for him beyond acknowledging he was physically attractive.

At least back then.

He had settled for the rather corny “kindred spirits” just a week or so prior to Percy’s disappearance, but even that felt strange. He and Percy were too different, but he still felt connected in some way to him.

While it bothered him to no end, the important thing was that Percy was precious to him.

He would find him, no matter how long it took.

* * *

His first clue actually came when a memoryless Jason Grace showed up at camp.

He had known the Roman Praetor had gone missing a few months prior, but hadn’t actually made the connection to Percy’s own disappearance until now.

His only guess was that whatever god was behind this was looking for some kind of forced exchange program between the camps (probably related to Annabeth’s findings about the Prophecy of Seven Rachel had uttered last summer). With something to look forward to, he began visiting Hazel and the Romans much more often than he used to.

Percy Jackson had the decency to show up nearly six months later.

He had felt so happy to see him safe, so relieved, surprised, he had said the only thing his mind had come up with.

“You… unbearable asshole!” He had shouted, because he was also furious at Percy for making him worry, even if it wasn’t his fault.

As Hazel confirmed just seconds later, Percy had come up with the same memory loss Jason had experienced back in Long Island.

His father had warned him that a powerful god had set this whole Jason-Percy switch in motion, and it would have been… _unwise_ to interfere.

Nico huffed, but decided to heed his father’s words, lest he found himself dead or worse, turned into yet another type of plant.

There was absolutely no other, illogical grudge about Percy leaving him all alone.

* * *

Nico wandered through the Underworld, trying to find some clue about the Doors of Death. His main source of information was finding any big group of monsters and following them around to see where they went.

Bob had been a huge help in that regard, since he usually had to clean after the different monster secretions in the upper end of the Underworld.

As he moved behind a group of Telekhines, (they left a wet, oily trail, according to Bob) he allowed his mind to wander towards a certain son of Poseidon.

In all the years he had known Percy Jackson, he had never imagined them kissing. Hell, even after the confession, thinking about Percy in a romantic light was just awkward and embarrassing.

Yet something had changed that night.

While he had nothing to compare it to, Percy’s kiss had felt… good. More than that, it felt _right_. Like he had been waiting for it to happen all along.

Was he being fickle? Shallow? Would his newfound interest in Percy Jackson fade away once the novelty ended?

Percy had been very honest with him one year ago. It would feel unearned, unfair, for him to just say he changed his mind and hope Percy still felt the same.

He needed to be sure about his feelings before deciding whether to act on them not.

“Well, it looks like a little godling has followed us around,” a Telekhine said, his sharp tongue licking his black, dog-like lips. “What should we do with him?”

Nico felt like cursing himself. He had been so wrapped up in his stupid teenage drama he had forgotten to remain hidden from the monsters he was tailing.

“The Earth Mother ssaid demigods were after the Doorsss,” a Dracaena accompanying the Telekhines said. “Eat him, let him try, it doess not matter. Either we kill him, or Tartarusss doess.”

“Tartarus, huh?” Nico said as he unsheathed his sword. “Thanks for the info.”         

The battle was short, with the Dracaena being the fiercest one. If Nico were to guess, the snake woman was recruiting monsters that had crawled to the Underworlds upper levels and sending them to Tartarus for a more direct route into the Mortal world.

He walked until he found one of the sinkholes his father had told him led into Tartarus. A “pore” into the primordial god’s domain.

Nico breathed heavily before he began his descent using small shadow jumps.

He was a child of the Underworld, and Tartarus was part of the Underworld. There was nothing down there he couldn’t face.

At least, that’s what he hoped.

* * *

Nico hadn’t believed he would ever see the light again.

His body was severely weakened due to starvation and being kept in an airtight jar. His mind was no better. Apparently one of the “perks” of being a child of the Underworld was the ability to see things beyond the mist with ease. Especially in the Pit.

A person can only endure walking through breathing flesh, blood and pustules for so long and remain sane. Breathing Tartarus’s own breath, trying to follow the presence of the Doors of Death and finding Despair herself, who seemed excessively delighted with his crumbling mental state.

In a way, being found and captured by Ephialtes and Otis had been a relief, even if it slowly killed him.

Then, he had met up with Percy again.

Before then, he had never thought a single person could have the key to his stability, but seeing Percy fighting the giants, having him being so gentle. It was the only thing keeping him sane as he told him what he found out about Tartarus and the Doors of Death.

He had asked Percy to distract him, to keep him from thinking about Tartarus… and he had chosen to talk about Annabeth Chase.

It was as if something crawled up his throat and began expanding. Suddenly he felt like he’d rather deal with memories of the Pit.

Maybe he could blame that thing in his throat for his boldness.

“Tell you what, when this is over, I’ll take you to a  _trattoria_. Let the Italian boy teach you how to eat Italian,” he had said, wanting Percy to look at him again instead of reminiscing about Annabeth.

Percy’s blush was reward enough, but when he made to stand up his body decided to remind him he had been without food, water or clean air for nearly two weeks, making him fall over.

Just like that, he was back in the real world. Percy Jackson was not his. That boat had sailed a year ago when he rejected him. Hell, even if he was his boyfriend it was selfish to want him to never pay attention to anyone else. Annabeth was his best friend. She was Nico's friend, too.

Nico truly was a disgusting, monstrous being, just as Tartarus had whispered in his ear.

Because he didn’t love Percy Jackson. He was obsessed with the sense of normalcy and belonging he provided. He allowed Percy to love him because it meant being less lonely, even if he never returned his feelings. He strung him along, always taking and never giving back. Percy Jackson could… should do better than him.

That fact didn’t diminish his sense of longing, however.

* * *

The scene of Percy’s fall had been on repeat in the back of his brain over and over again.

He felt a mix of emotions about it… all of them negative.

He felt useless, worthless over not being able to save them, he felt envious that Percy and Annabeth didn’t have to go through Tartarus alone, jealous that Percy had not chosen him and had willingly dropped, and he felt guilty over being jealous when Percy was going through literal hell.

Cupid forcing him to accept his feelings for Percy in front of Jason Grace had just been the cherry on top.

“Look, Nico, it’s fine,” Jason said as they walked back towards the Argo II, Diocletian’s Scepter in his hands. “Really, man, it’s cool.”

“I’ll pay you your weight in precious stones if you stop the accepting friend act,” he grumbled, already annoyed at the son of Jupiter.

“It’s not an act,” Jason said, looking offended. “Nico, there’s nothing wrong with you—”

“Yeah, we’re about three years too late to have this conversation,” he said, his mind briefly going back to a certain son of Apollo. “I know there’s nothing wrong with liking guys, thank you very much. It’s liking _this_ particular guy that’s a problem.”

“Okay, so you fell in love with Percy, big deal!” Jason said loudly. Nico cringed, still not used to hearing the word and knowing he had found the right label for Percy. “Percy won’t hate you. I’m pretty sure Annabeth won’t hate you. You just need to open up to them.”

“It’s not as simple as— wait, what does Annabeth have to do with this?”

“Um… the fact that you like her boyfriend?” Nico stared for what felt like hours before snorting and covering his mouth. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Percy and Annabeth aren’t dating,” he said after calming down. “Percy is… was into me. He rejected Annabeth last year.”

If anything, the explanation only left Jason looking more confused than ever.

“Then what’s the big deal? You tell him, you date, end of the story!” Jason huffed.

“I rejected Percy,” Nico said as if that explained everything. Jason’s expression just told him it didn’t. “That was a year ago. Percy and I have… a history, a lot of baggage. If I were him, I would have rethought my feelings for the creepy son of Hades by now.”

Jason looked like he didn’t agree, but at least was wise enough to not comment on it.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I guess it depends on Percy.”

Nico looked at him. Jason was trying. He was actually trying to be his friend, or at the very least supportive. It made him want to be honest with him.

Still, that didn’t mean Nico actually knew what came next himself.

* * *

He had never been good with people.

Before the whole demigod stuff, he was a weirdo nerd obsessed with a card game. After that, he was the guy with the creepy powers and unfriendly aura who made everyone uncomfortable.

Very few people made him feel like he was just Nico. Just someone who had some out there interests and got passionate about it. Someone who had lost people before, and was fighting to keep the ones left.

One of those people was Percy Jackson, but he couldn’t be the only one. Nico somehow knew that if he wanted Percy to be more than a friend, he needed to be one of many, or else he risked depending too much on someone, being clingy and possessive, overwhelming…

Just like he had been with Bianca.

He still didn’t know what to do now that they were back from Tartarus. He could have asked, he could have talked to him, yet in his cowardice he had put it off again. Thank the gods having to lug around a giant statue to mend the rift between Greeks and Romans was both a necessary task only he could do and a perfect excuse to get away from having to tell Percy of his newfound feelings.

Nico shook his head, trying to concentrate on what his father told him. Orion, a Giant under Gaea's orders, was after them alongside a pack of wolves (literal? Metaphorical? With gods, it was hard to tell). Coach Hedge and Reyna, his travelling companions, seemed to be calculating their next move, while Nico could only remember his father’s words in the Chapel of Bones.

 _“Some deaths_ should _not be prevented,”_ he had said. Was he trying to warn him? Was Percy, or Hazel, the one destined to die in this quest? Was his trial as a son of Hades to let one of his important people go?

He couldn’t accept that. It went against what his father wished for him, to have a happy life.

His thoughts were interrupted by Reyna’s dogs standing uptight and growling.

Well, it seemed like Orion’s wolves had finally caught up to them.

* * *

Maybe he was meant to be alone.

That was his only thought as he tried to disarm Octavian’s onagers with the help of some demigods from Camp Half-Blood.

What he had done to Bryce Lawrence… dragging him to the Underworld, turning him into a ghost with his powers… it was just a fancy way of saying he had killed him.

Could he really be more than a monster?

Reyna and Hedge seemed to think so. Even Will Solace seemed to think so.

After this, though, he was sure Will would change his mind.

Octavian’s robes were stuck in the last functioning onager’s payload. He was too busy ranting and raving about killing Gaea, the Greeks and Jason Grace to notice.

Hades’ words came back to him, and he wondered whether one more murder, even if it was by not telling the poor sucker to watch his robes, made any difference after what he had done to Bryce Lawrence.

“Octavian, don’t,” Will tried to reason with him. “We can’t allow you to—”

“Will,” Nico said raising a hand and putting it over his chest to stop him. He looked at Michael Kahale, Octavian’s reluctant follower, nodding subtly. They would both have some of the blame, but Will Solace didn’t need to share it if he at least knew he tried to save him, but was stopped. “We can’t stop him.”

Will looked appalled, but Nico shook his head.

If his time with Percy had taught him anything, it was how sometimes the right thing to do was not necessarily the heroic thing to do.

Despite being a demigod for longer than he was, apparently Will Solace still lacked the bitterness that ate away most of them.

“Goodbye, Gaea!” Octavian yelled. “Goodbye, Jason Grace the traitor!”

If Will wanted to hold on to the idea that good people never had to do terrible things, Nico would let him do so. He had already come to terms with that. He had seen a hero fail to protect a loved one. He had been a hero selling out another hero for petty vengeance, and no hero survived Tartarus without doing awful things. He was already a monster in Will Solace’s eyes. The son of Apollo just hadn’t realized it until now.

The onager fired, launching its explosive payload with Octavian in tow. His shrill scream didn’t fade until well after he was out of sight.

“Goodbye, Octavian,” Michael said solemnly. The following explosion lit the sky ablaze.

Idly, he wondered if he was also a monster in Percy’s eyes.

* * *

The battle ended with heavy losses to both sides (or considering the Greeks and Romans were working together, calling it "the demigod side" would be more accurate). Nico, being the only child of the Underworld with knowledge of funeral rites, had been working himself to the ground arranging for funeral pyres and helping burn corpses or, in case of Leo Valdez, an empty casket with some Hephaestus symbols.

He had felt Leo die, but it had felt… weird. Like the soul hadn’t quite left.

Nico shook his head, pinning it up to his drained state due the shadow travelling.

Will Solace, surprisingly, had been trying to help with that. Making him go to constant physicals and checking on him every other hour.

It was more annoying than anything else, but at least it delayed his pending talk with Percy, so he was all for it.

A small part of him couldn’t help but notice some similarities to how Percy treated him after his confession, but he decided to ignore it. After all, he could be wrong.

Besides, Will was a nice guy and everything, but in his mind he would always be the guy who chucked a bronze disk at his head when he was twelve.

“I’ll need to keep an eye on you to make sure you make a full recovery,” Will was saying, already guiding him towards the infirmary. “That means no powers, no running away, you’ll stay in the—”

“Hey, Nico!” A voice interrupted Will. Nico got away from under Will’s arm easily, not the least bit apologetic.

He’d take Percy over being coddled any day. Even if it meant finally having that talk he’d been dreading.

“Percy,” he greeted, trying to sound as normal and unaffected as he could. “It’s nice seeing you around.”

“Yeah, sorry about that, I’ve been busy,” Percy said as he scratched his head and laughed. Nico found himself liking the sound more than ever before.

“Me too. For a place that had to bury so many, Camp Half-Blood knows surprisingly little about funeral rites.” And he had killed the good mood again. He truly was a keeper, wasn’t he?

Percy, however, gave a small chuckle.

“So… you’ve have found a place here,” he said with a smile.

_Yeah, with you._

“I… guess so,” Nico said, trying get rid of the sappy thoughts in his head.

“That’s great…” Percy paused for a few moments, seemingly preparing for what he was going to say next. “Listen, Nico, I wanted to apologize.”

“Hm? What for?”

“For this last year,” he admitted. Nico stopped walking, afraid. “I treated you like we were… more than we actually were. I was clingy, possessive, annoying, I never listened to you… I even kissed you without asking!”

“I… I'm not mad, it's okay,” Nico said, trying to get a word in, as Percy looked sicker the longer he talked.

“No it isn’t,” he said, he gave a deep breath before looking at him. “You are not mine, you never have been, and you probably never will be.”

“Percy…”

“So I’m trying my hardest to just be your friend from now on,” Percy said. Nico felt as if all words he wanted to say had escaped him. “As soon as I’m done with school, I’m going to study in New Rome’s university with Annabeth. I’ll be around less. I won’t get in your way when making friends or getting into relationships anymore.

“I’m getting over you, I swear.”

It was strange how a year ago those words would have filled him with relief. Now he just felt his eyes prickle and like air was scarce. He wanted to shout and kick, and call Percy an idiot a thousand times before kissing him.

He did none of those things. He just nodded slowly and hugged him.

It made sense how life would be so cruel to take away what he never appreciated now that he so desperately wanted it.

“I just want you to be happy, Percy.”

Percy Jackson had already suffered a year of unrequited love.

It was only fair for Nico to experience it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Nico's POV feels stilted or a little incomplete, that's because it's meant to be. Remember, this is a story about Percy dealing with being in love with Nico. Giving Nico's (or Cupid's) perspective is only meant to enrich and contextualize what Percy does and how the world reacts to him and this change from canon. A lot of Nico scenes still happen as in canon (being turned into corn, travelling with Reyna and Hedge, etc), they're just not mentioned because the story's focus is on what's different. 
> 
> On to the chapter itself, denial is one hell of a drug, huh? There's none so blind as those who will not see, as they say. Nico tends to be very critical of himself, both in this story and in canon, so he readily believes Percy's interest in him is fading, when Percy's just doing what he believes will make Nico happy. Irony!
> 
> Next chapter will be the last (kinda), we'll see what Percy and Nico's conversation brings and the long awaited romantic resolution. After that, I'll be doing a short Epilogue to clean up some loose ends.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments fill me with joy, and inspire me to keep writing, so please, don't be shy!


	13. Love is Worth It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Everybody actually TALKS about their issues and resolve them.
> 
> What a concept.

Percy closed Cabin 3’s door and let out a sigh.

With the Romans going back west the next day, they had had a nice bonfire with everyone, with Reyna even singling out Nico as an example of cross-camp collaboration.

It relieved him that Nico wouldn’t be alone even if he took some distance away from him, but it also hurt to know that, at the end of the day, he had become just another friend to Nico. Nico di Angelo needed to open up, make friends. Percy’s possessiveness just slowed him down. Taking distance had been necessary.

 _“Hey, Annabeth?”_ He had asked after their reconciliation in Greece. _“Nico will never like me back.”_

Using ‘like’ was safer, it hurt less, even if Percy was way past that point.

_“You don’t know that, Percy. You might just be in different places right now. Nobody, not even the Fates, really knows the future.”_

_“But I do,”_ he had insisted. _“What should I do? You’ve seen how he is around me, we’ll never be in the same place.”_

 _“You can be.”_ Annabeth had shrugged and given his arm a slight squeeze. _“Do what I did.”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“I have liked two boys, neither of which liked me back,”_ she had said. Percy had felt the familiar guilt coming back. _“They never were at the same place as I was, so in the end… it was me that had to move.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“I let Luke go, I let you go,”_ her voice had taken a surprisingly gentle tone. _“Luke saw me as a sister, so I moved on and saw him as a brother. I’m your best friend, not your girlfriend or crush, so I had to see you as you see me.”_

_“Will that work?”_

_“It’s hard, but it’s the right thing to do. If you want to make Nico happy, if you want to make_ yourself _happy, let those feelings go.”_

Doing the right thing sucked.

A knock on his door took him back to the present.

He opened it to see a familiar satyr giving him a sheepish (goatish?) smile.

“Hey, man… you okay?”

“Grover!” He said, grinning and stepping aside to let his best friend in. “It’s been ages, G-man! I didn’t know the whole Lord of the Wild gig would steal you away.”

Grover chuckled, embarrassed. His friend had grown even more that when he last saw him. The fuzz in his chin had become a full-blown goatee, and his Rasta hat had two small nubs, unable to conceal his horns completely.

It was only then that it hit him how much he had missed his friend… and how much he had missed of his friend’s life.

“Yeah, you and Juniper have a lot in common, then,” he said. “Still, you’d be surprised of how flexible nature spirits’ schedules become when the world’s about to end.”

“Well, not that I want you drowning in work, but I hope they don’t get flexible again for a long, long time.”

They both laughed and continued catching up. Apparently, after Hera put him to sleep, his bond with Grover had gone completely dead, making him panic, but since deserted islands off the coast of East Africa didn’t have reliable ways of communication, he had been unable to contact camp until the search was already underway.

He had still done his best to reach him, though, and when it became obvious that Gaea was rising, he had been able to take some time off from his duties and helped camp against both the Roman invasion and Gaea’s monsters.

“So, how are you doing?” Grover asked.

“Well, I’m sure everyone already told you about—”

“Nah, man, I know about the quest, how are _you_?” Grover asked and pointed at the empty space between them. “This empathy link? It also picks up on strong emotions. So, tell your best friend everything.”

Percy swallowed before giving a halfhearted laugh.

“Pretty devastated, actually,” he conceded and let his shoulders drop. “Have you ever done something you know is right, but you still feel like crap after doing it?”

“Tell me,” was all Grover said as he adjusted himself to a more comfortable position.

Percy did. He told Grover about Aphrodite, about Nico, about how utterly in love he was with this time-displaced boy, about how, no matter what, they would forever be in different places in their relationship.

Percy told Grover about letting him go.

“Well, that’s… heavy,” Grover said as he nervously nibbled at his third can. “I can’t say that ever happened to me, man, so I’m not much help.”

“Hey, just having someone to vent to is great,” he said, smiling. Grover smiled back.

“Give it time,” Grover said. “There are many Love gods, and between you and me, not all of them are at Aphrodite’s beck and call. You’re young, you’ll love again someday, Satyr’s honor.”

Many Love gods… Aphrodite had said something similar.

“Thanks, G-man.”

* * *

The next day was filled with goodbyes. He saw Hazel hugging Nico, who only looked mildly uncomfortable at the closeness, The Stolls were trying to pickpocket any legionnaire gullible enough to accept their handshakes or one-armed hugs, and he even saw Piper speaking with Reyna by the lake.

As the Romans began their march back home, Percy stood by Thalia’s tree looking at them, absentmindedly petting Peleus the dragon.

“Hey, got a minute?” Percy turned to see Jason. Ever since Leo’s sacrifice, he seemed down nearly all the time. Although Percy wasn’t exactly close to the Son of Hephaestus, he could sympathize with Jason and Piper losing their best friend.

“Sure,” he said and began walking towards camp, leaving the Legion at his back. “How does it feel to see them march away and not go with them?” He asked, curious.

“I thought it would feel weirder, but after all that happened, it just seems right,” he said and shrugged. “I never fully belonged with the Romans, and I don’t fully belong with the Greeks, but what I chose… it feels right for me.”

“That’s… great, bro.”

“But I’m not here to talk about that,” he shook his head and looked urgently at him. “Have you talked to Nico?”

“Yup.”

“…And?”

“Everything’s fine now,” he said. “I apologized, and I’m giving him his space.”

Jason looked like he had just told him Telekhine saliva was a great conditioner substitute. He seemed at a loss of what to say for about a minute, before just giving a long, _long_ sigh.

“What did you even tell him?”

“That I was sorry for being so pushy, and that I was trying to get over him,” he said. Jason tried to pinch the bridge of his nose, only to be surprised by his glasses.

“Talk to him again.”

“What? No, dude! We’re finally okay! I’m giving him space to make other friends, open up. He can’t do that if I keep pestering him.”

Jason looked at the sky, muttering something along the lines of “you’re both morons.”

“So,” he said, looking quite exasperated. “What you’re saying is that you won’t approach Nico again in the foreseeable future.”

“Uh… yeah?”

“And the ball is in Nico’s court now, correct?”

“I guess so?” Percy said, not really understanding Jason.

The son of Jupiter just sighed again and shook his head.

“I just remembered I have something to do, see you later,” Jason said and began walking away from him before he turned back. “Oh, by the way, do you know where can I get Christmas lights?”

“Uh… I’m sure Chiron has some in the Big House?”

“Awesome. See you!”

“Are we still talking about Nico?”

“Not everything is about you two!” He said loudly as he ran towards the Big House, leaving a very confused Percy alone by the Strawberry Fields.

* * *

Percy spent the rest of his morning trying to recover some sense of normalcy. He climbed the lava wall, made some sword drills and failed horribly at archery.

He didn’t feel happy, but he felt content enough. After all the sacrifices, all the pain… content seemed pretty good.

By lunch, he was talking with Annabeth about their living arrangements (he wanted to share, since he was tired of being alone in his cabin, while Annabeth wanted to see if they could ask Reyna for adjacent homes), feeling like, just like every year, his summer was ending way too soon.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nico glaring at Jason as the son of Jupiter just looked unimpressed. He made a shooing motion with his hand and Nico stomped his foot. Most people seemed to look at Jason with awe, but honestly, Percy knew Nico’s body language to tell apart a tantrum from a threat.

“I wonder what’s going on over there,” he commented idly. Annabeth blinked and looked at the still bickering pair of demigods.

“Maybe they’re bonding?” Annabeth said, quickly losing interest. “Nico acts the same way with Will. I guess that’s just how he makes friends nowadays.”

Percy felt the need to defend Nico, but found out he really couldn’t do so. After Bianca, Nico pushed people away on instinct. His friend circle, small as it was, consisted of people able to push through his barriers to see the kind, nice person underneath.

“He wasn’t like that with us,” he still said. His best friend shrugged.

“I’m really sure we are the outliers, not the norm.”

Before he could comment anything else, he felt a strong breeze at his right, followed by a grumpy son of Hades crashing into him. Both Percy and Nico turned towards Jason who just send them a thumbs up. Nico responded with a far less kind gesture.

“Nico?”

“Percy,” he said, still glaring at Jason. For a second, it looked like that was all he was going to say, but after a few seconds he stopped gritting his teeth and sighed. “I… I have something to talk to you about. Can we…?”

“Y-yeah, sure.”

As if Jason hadn’t just blown him towards him with a miniature tornado, Nico stood up and began walking away from the mess hall. Percy hurried after him.

* * *

The amphitheater was always empty during lunchtime. Nico sat down on one of the stone benches and looked at Percy expectantly. Percy sat down beside him.

“So—”

“No,” Nico interrupted before he even got the chance to talk. “I’m the one talking this time.”

“Huh?”

“You said you were trying to be a better listener, right? Last time, you only said your piece and then walked away,” Nico said, crossing his arms. He looked oddly cute like that. “So put your drachmas where your mouth is, shut up, and for once in your life let _me_ talk first.”

Percy blinked, perplexed, before just nodding. Nico seemed satisfied with that and closed his eyes.

Percy started to get antsy after the second minute of complete silence.

(Truth be told, he was surprised he hadn’t started moving earlier, what with his ADHD and all.)

“Last year,” Nico said suddenly, making Percy jump as the son of Hades opened his eyes. “You told me you liked me.”

Percy nodded, unsure if he could talk now.

“I didn’t understand why you would do so.” Percy opened his mouth to protest, but Nico lifted a hand right to his face. “This is not about self-esteem or anything, I mean it literally.

“To me, we had nothing in common… aside from things all demigods have in common.”

Fighting monsters, ADHD, godly parent issues. Yeah, Percy could see that.

“Except for being a son of Hades, there wasn’t anything special or extraordinary about me to you, so I didn’t understand why you would like me of all people,” Nico paused to sigh. Percy couldn’t help but feel a slight déjà vu of his conversation with Annabeth. “Then I realized it doesn’t matter.”

“It… doesn’t?” Now Percy just felt confused.

“Love and Death are equals, the same,” he said softly. “It sometimes makes no sense why someone dies, why people die young or old, but everyone dies, all the same… sorry, I’m probably creeping you out.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy said hurriedly. “I get it.”

“Then you also know it’s not fair!” he exclaimed, moving his hands around. “Liking someone doesn’t mean they like you back, just like avoiding death doesn’t mean everyone you care about lives!

“Sometimes the person you like stops liking you before you realize you do have feelings for them, sometimes you feel like you don’t deserve love, just as you feel that you should have died instead of someone else!”

“Nico…”

“But in the end,” Nico was breathing hard as he continued speaking. “Every ghost I’ve spoken to tells me that they’re glad they lived and that they’re glad they lived alongside others… so I guess that what I’m trying to say is… thank you, Percy, for having liked me.” The fight seemed to leave Nico as he finished speaking. He hunched on his seat as his shoulders sagged.

Percy felt like he had a toad (or maybe a hydra) stuck in his throat. He didn’t seem able to actually talk.

Nico didn’t seem to mind, though, as he just sighed and continued talking.

“There’s one last thing I have to say, if we truly want to put all of this behind us and be friends,” Nico took a deep breath and looked at him. “I’m sorry I broke my promise.”

Nico looked at him intently, waiting for him to catch on to some hidden meaning.

He was honestly expecting too much out of Percy.

“What do you mean? What promise?”

“Jason,” he said as a way of explaining. Percy still didn’t get it. “He found out first.”

“Found out? Found out about wha—”

_“If things change, you’ll be the first to know, I promise.”_

The memory came to him suddenly, making him stop, his mouth agape mid-sentence. Nico seemed oddly interested in his shoes now.

“Uh… it’s… it’s okay but… I think I still need to hear _what_ he found out.”

“Percy,” Nico said, his voice pleading.

“I just… I need to hear you say it,” he repeated. Percy needed to know if he was right, if, despite what Aphrodite had said and done, things could change between him and Nico.

Nico still avoided looking at him.

“Over the past few months I have been… having these thoughts… about you,” he admitted. “Thoughts friends shouldn’t have about each other.”

“Yeah?” He whispered, not trusting his voice not to come out squeaky.

“Please don’t make me say it,” he said. “Can’t you figure it out from there?”

“I could,” Percy said slowly, trying to fight his grin. “But I don’t want to get it wrong… you know, make you uncomfortable.”

He didn’t mean to sound teasing, he truly didn’t. However, it was what Nico noticed about his words.

“We’re way past uncomfortable!” He said, some of his earlier anger flaring up. “You want me to say it? Fine! I like you! I may even love you, who knows anymore! It happened so fast to me, but apparently not fast enough, you still had plenty of time to get over me!”

Nico glared as if daring Percy to say anything.

“I know part of our issues is that I came on too strong,” Percy said slowly. Nico’s glare softened a bit, but he remained defiant. “So I’m sorry if I’m doing it again but… ever since Rome, I’ve been pretty sure I’m in love you.”

It was as if a switch was flipped. Nico’s eyes widened as he jumped away from him, putting about three feet between them. Gone was the defensive Nico who used his famous Hades temper to hide away, leaving a vulnerable Nico who, not unlike the scared teen who had just escaped Tartarus and the Giants, seemed to be full of some kind of wary hope.

“B-but then… why did you—”

“I thought that’s what you wanted of me,” Percy said sheepishly. “Shows how much I’ve actually changed when it comes to listening.”

He laughed awkwardly while Nico ducked his head.

“So… we both lo… li… have feelings for each other,” Nico said, still sounding like he expected it to be a lie. Percy just nodded at him, smiling. “What now?”

“We give it a try, I guess,” Percy said. “We date.”

“Just like that?” Nico asked. “Isn’t there like, a protocol or something?”

“Sure there is,” Percy said as he stood up and offered his hand. After a few seconds of staring, Nico took it. “Do you want to go watch a movie sometime? I’ll let you choose.”

“I’d love to?” Despite phrasing it like a question, Nico was still smiling. “I still can’t Shadow Travel very far, but one of these days, I’ll take you to an Italian _trattoria_ , as I said.”

“I can’t wait.”

Nico, emboldened by his response put his arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.

Percy returned the kiss immediately, the same feeling of euphoria from New Rome rising in him.

Percy felt confident enough to say that he understood love better than your average demigod did. Love was not just happiness or bliss, nor was it sadness or pain. People often called love the most wonderful feeling, others called a weakness, a poison that corroded the heart and mind, or a strength that gave you a reason to fight.

To Percy, they were all right. Love had many faces: the mother that worked tirelessly to protect her son, the friend who didn’t let her feelings ruin her bonds with others, the person who, in his quest to be loved, let himself be turned into a monster.

The kid out of his depth trying to understand an antisocial boy, only to find a brave, kind soul who deserves the world.

Love was, more often than not, rough around the edges. It took dedication and devotion to make it grow into something meaningful.

“Was that okay?” Nico asked shyly as they separated. Percy smiled goofily.

“More than okay,” he said as he went in for another kiss.

But above all, Percy would say, that love was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we reach the end... kinda. Percy and Nico's falling in love story is finished, but there are some details that still need to be concluded properly.
> 
> On the chapter itself, I felt the need to bring back Grover at the start because I love the guy and find his lack of interaction with Percy during HoO to be a crime. Also, I'm kind of tired of Jason being the friend burdened by everyone's venting in fanfic. Give the poor guy a break! And in a way, Jason's scene shows that, yes, he may be helping Nico and Percy get together, but he still has his own thing going (yes, he's "recreating" his first fake kiss with Piper, as per canon), because Percy stopped pursuing Nico, he's noticing other's people's goals more.
> 
> Nico is a resilient, reticent guy. He danced around the subject a lot, and had to be goaded to anger to let it all out. I like that about him. He's a defeatist, so he tried to undermine himself to make the inevitable (in his mind) rejection hurt less. Regardless of what he said, I do believe Nico and Percy are compatible and have a lot in common, but I'll get more into that later.
> 
> I wrote this as the last chapter, the story is technically over. It was designed so you can stop reading and feel completely satisfied. However, there are a few tidbits of narrative that need a conclusion (hint: some of it is godly, some of it demigodly). So join me next time for **Postlude: Within the Halls of Love** for the final installment of this story! As always any and all comments are greatly appreciated, and fill me with energy to write. Until next time!


	14. Postlude: Within the Halls of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, we've come to this: the epilogue, a little extra to tie up some plot lines and a little look into Percy and Nico's life as a couple.
> 
> As a sidenote, I hate the word "postlude". It sounds ugly, but because my first chapter is a "prelude" and my chapters away from Percy's POV were "interludes", I have to cope with it. Oh well, on with the Show!

When Eros arrived at Olympus, it was to find his least favorite sibling doing their mother’s job (not the first time it happened, wouldn’t be the last).

“Peitho,” he said, flatly. The goddess of seduction was busy linking pictures in a tablet with her finger. He noticed she took small pleasure in linking multiple boys to a single target before looking up and losing her smile. “Do you know where Mother is?”

“Suadela,” she corrected him, pointing to her Italian designer clothes, as if that made her more Roman. “Mother is busy, apparently she’s needed to defeat some Giant or something, but she left a message for you.” She produced a small pink piece of paper with a saccharine smile before going back to the tablet.

Eros sighed, knowing his quiver would get very heavy soon.

He unfolded the piece of paper, only for a mountain of glitter to fall from it and materialize into a chair. The paper itself only had two words written in it.

‘ **Wait here.** ’ 

When Eros did as he was told, the pink paper transformed into a last millennium’s number of “The Modern Nymph”.

Eros resisted the urge to groan, knowing Suadela was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, hiding a smirk.

So that was how his punishment began.

Resigned, he turned to page 46, which promised an “exciting” questionnaire that would reveal which gods he would be able to outrun.

* * *

Aphrodite came back to her temple nearly a week later. In that time, the god in charge of her job changed 4 times. The other Erotes were kind enough to tell him what was happening in Europe, their mother readying to help their demigod sister take down the Giants once and for all.

She had returned with barely a speck of dust in her expensive black dress, her expression undecipherable. She glanced at Himeros briefly before making a shooing motion, making him disappear, and sitting down on her chair. Picking up the tablet and reading on what relationships had formed in her absence, she began talking to him.

“Am I so demanding that you have to disobey me every once in a while, dear?” She didn’t look or sound mad. For once, Aphrodite looked deadly serious.

“Of course not, Mother,” he said quickly, surprised to find himself intimidated by his usually laidback mother. “It was just… the pain… my Roman side…”

“Things neither of us expected, then,” she said. With a snap of her fingers, one of her favorite coats materialized, and from it she produced two glass arrows. “Do you know what these are?”

Eros had never seen that type of arrow before, but maybe due to his divinity and dominion, he instinctively knew what they were.

“Unrealized Love,” he said. “A Love that could have been, but never got the chance.”

Different from the bunt arrows. Those ones, Eros had chosen not to shoot, despite having the opportunity to do so. These arrows, however, he could not shoot even if he wanted to.

“Imagine my surprise when these arrows I had been tending to all these years turned into glass,” She said sadly, as she handed them over. Eros took them carefully. “They are useless now. If you try shooting them at their target, they’ll shatter.”

One arrow was meant for Percy Jackson, the other for Nico di Angelo.

Carved onto the glass were the names Annabeth Chase and Will Solace.

“I don’t—”

“I promised Percy not to interfere with his love life anymore, but by that point this arrows were already made. My oath to the Styx would have been kept,” she explained. “He was supposed to feel the deepest of despairs, and then, suddenly, notice the one who had stayed by his side all along, suffering from the same unrequited love as he…”

“And Nico…”

“Not all stories are epics,” his mother admitted. “Sometimes love is just two people that find each other attractive and build a deeper understanding from there. I didn’t want the boy to end up alone, and my attention was on Percy and Annabeth, really. Nico just had a secondary role in their story. A beautiful story filled with pain, betrayal and loyalty, and above all, a love that transformed and changed.”

“But my arrow found its target,” he said. He couldn’t say he regretted it, but he could understand how the loss of such a love would upset his mother.

“And as soon as it did, these arrows turned to glass.” Aphrodite sighed wistfully, her tablet finally taking on its true form: a copper hand mirror with a pronged handle. She began applying mascara. “I guess it is my fault. I was so excited I forgot to let you in on my plan, sweetie.”

Had he been Cupid instead of Eros, he would have called his mother out on being so obvious in her attempt to get him to blame himself. He didn’t know whether Aphrodite wanted to punish him harshly or just make him feel guilty, more likely to obey in the future.

“Maybe it was the Fates,” he said carefully. His mother looked at him curiously. “To conquer Love is to face it, and I believe both of them were fated to conquer it. The moment that Golden Arrow bore Nico’s name we had already lost.

“They are honest souls. It was too much to ask of Nico to not fall in love with Percy Jackson,” he continued, thinking back on how, before this farce, Nico was to fall for him anyway. “He was persistent and genuine, and Nico is but a mortal teenager.”

“I did say he would become quite the heartbreaker, didn’t I?” She said. “But still! That was to be my masterpiece! Now everything is ruined!”

“Maybe not, mother,” Eros said, opening the palm of his hand and stretching his arm towards her. Aphrodite eyed him warily before passing him the mirror. “It’s better if we see it with our own eyes, and trust in Love.”

The mirror began swirling before the image became that of Half-Blood Hill. Near the barrier tree, a lone blonde woman sat.

* * *

Annabeth Chase had always liked to think of herself as a rational person. During her last quest, she had learned she was not… or at least, not completely.

She had understood that to be alive was to be emotional. To make stupid, irrational decisions, to feel things beyond her control that she couldn’t hide.

So the gods would have to forgive her as she sulked by Thalia’s Pine as she watched Percy and Nico talking and laughing by the Big House, completely unaware of the world around them.

“I didn’t expect you to be so morose,” a voice said from behind her. Annabeth glanced back to see Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano looking at her curiously. Before she could respond, she followed to where her gaze had been, giving a soft “ah” in an understanding (and, to be honest, a little humiliating) tone.

“It’s barely been a couple weeks,” she said instead, ignoring her greeting. “Don’t tell me you also plan on turning to the Greek side like Jason.”

“Of course not,” she scoffed, looking almost offended. “I need to talk to Chiron about our arrangement, select campers for exchange programs, those sort of things. And I still don’t get how the whole rainbow messaging thing works.” She shrugged.

“Iris Messaging,” Annabeth corrected her without thinking, her gaze went back to Percy and Nico unconsciously, catching Nico looking uncomfortable as Percy tried to ramp up the PDA. Poor kid.

How she wished to be in his place.

“Do you think they’ll last?” Reyna asked, still standing in overly perfect military posture. She glanced at her, remembering she had (probably) liked Percy too.

However, her eyes, were glued to Nico instead, in what she could only describe as a familial pride.

“It depends on Nico, I suppose,” she said, shrugging. “Percy is too loyal. He has had a crush on him for far too long. He would never leave him unless Nico wanted him too.”

“That’s good.” Reyna relaxed, finally looking at her again. “I’ll still give him a little talk before I go.”

“I always thought it would be me, you know?” She said softly. “We were always so close. I’ve been a part of every quest he has been in, we opened up to each other, we grew closer through the years…”

“But never as close as you would have liked,” Reyna said, finally sitting on the grass beside her. “You’re preaching to the choir here, I’m afraid.”

Annabeth winced. Of course, Jason. However, as she looked at Reyna, she didn’t see any bitterness or contempt, but a soft wistful expression.

“What happened to us?”

Reyna shrugged.

“Maybe it was the Fates. Maybe we’re meant for other people. Maybe women like us intimidate men. The reasons matter little,” she said. “What matters is what will happen to us now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a talk with Piper, about something Venus once said to me.” Reyna looked towards the lake, face impassive. “‘No demigod will heal your heart,’ she told me. Piper said love was out there, waiting for me to find it, but I don’t think that’s right.

“I think… love, at least romantic love, will not mend my heart. I have to do that myself. Only then will I have what I need to find a lasting love.”

“Mending your heart by yourself, huh?” Annabeth mused, before looking at Percy again.

She still felt an ache in her chest when she looked at him, but she was surprised to find that, if she concentrated, the pain dulled, overwhelmed by the fondness she felt for her best friend.

Maybe the feeling wouldn’t disappear immediately, if it did at all, but she could at least feel happy for her friend, and do what Percy had tried to do: begin to move on.

She patted her hands on her jeans, getting rid of some stray blades of grass and standing up.

“Well, come on,” Annabeth said as she walked down the hill, waiting for Reyna to do the same. “Chiron is just finished with classes, so he’ll be at the Big House.”

Reyna blinked twice before nodding, following behind her.

They waved at Percy and Nico before entering the Big House. Annabeth was pleased to find that, despite the fact that she now allowed the jealousy to be there instead of ignoring it to pretend to be purely rational, she was glad for Percy.

This was just the first step.

Annabeth would continue on, until she was no longer in love with Percy Jackson.

* * *

“Okay, I think I have it figured out by now!”

Will Solace took out the thermometer from Nico’s mouth, looking it over and unsurprised to see he still was only about 5 degrees or so above room temperature (wouldn’t be concerning if not for the fact that the Infirmary was one of the few places in camp with AC).

“You’ll be out of commission for a few months, at least,” he commented as he put his equipment away. He took out a piece of paper and began writing on it. “Any sort of Son of Hades powers are strictly forbidden for a month. After that, you need to take it easy for another 3 months. No cross-country shadow travelling or dead summoning shenanigans. Come back for a check-up in 4 months, we’ll see how you evolve.”

“You know you’re not a real doctor, right?” Nico raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms. “No matter what you write there, you can’t actually prescribe me anything.”

“Oh this isn’t a prescription,” he said, folding the paper. “These are instructions for—” The door opened right in that moment, with Percy storming in and looking Nico over. “Perfect timing.”

Percy observed Nico carefully, looking for any sign of transparency in his body before sighing and looking at Will, frowning.

“Any more _brilliant_ testing, doc?” He asked sarcastically, huffing. “’Let’s try raising the dead, Nico totally won’t disappear if we raise the dead!’” He said in a voice that didn’t even come close to his.

“He was fine calling the undead chauffeur,” Will pointed out. In normal circumstances, he would be afraid of Percy Jackson, but right now, he was just another patient’s significant other. They were in his element. “I need to test his limits so I can treat him.”

Percy just glared, seemingly unaware of how flustered Nico was getting on his behalf.

Will just shrugged and gave Percy the piece of paper.

“Here,” he said. “Both you and I know he won’t do anything I tell him.” He ignored Nico’s offended grumble. “So make sure he follows these instructions. I’d also recommend more time in the Sun, and some remedies that better circulation.”

Percy took the paper and looked it over. He looked at Will unimpressed.

“How come even when you write in Ancient Greek all I see are hard to read squiggles?” Percy shook his head, but placed the paper in his jeans’ back pocket. “Doctors, I swear.”

Nico rolled his eyes behind Percy muttering something akin to “don’t encourage him.” Will grinned.

“Let’s just go, doofus,” Nico said, taking Percy’s hand and going past him. “I still want to see how bad you actually are with a bow. Bye, Will.”

The door closed behind them, cutting Will off from giving a response.

He shrugged and decided to check what medicines he was running low on.

Will Solace was not stupid. He knew Percy’s sudden dislike of him was rooted in jealousy. Not that he could blame him, as it was true that he had been hitting on Nico before they got together (honestly, he thought he was with Annabeth).

However, the thought that he would keep at it even when the two of them seemed conjoined at the hip was just preposterous. Nico was attractive, yes, but he barely knew the guy. Nico himself had made it difficult to do so, anyway.

Still, Will could only sigh wistfully at the couple. He could only hope that one day he could meet someone who made him act as sappy and corny as Percy and Nico.

* * *

Nico was sulking on his cabin, completely set on never coming out again.

_“Percy would probably make a bad joke out of tha— No! He’s forbidden to think about from now on!”_

He turned towards his bedside and pulled out a book from under his pillow, intending to read his problems away.

On his sixth or seventh rereading of the same line, there was a knock on his door.

“Go. Away.” He said, knowing only one person who would knock on his door after what happened that morning.

That person, as usual, didn’t listen, and opened the door. He still looked pissed, but Nico didn’t care, trying to bury his face in his book.

“You can’t just leave in the middle of an argument, Nico,” Percy said. He huffed and sat on the bed beside his.

“Didn’t know a shouting match that had you insulting me was an argument,” Nico said as he turned the page. He still didn’t even remember what the book was about.

“Nico.”

“Also didn’t know that the offending party has any right to look like the one offended.”

“Nico,” Percy said, more insistently. Nico remained in his book, knowing that if he looked at him, he’d forgive him without him giving an actual apology.

“I mean, I’m learning so much about interpersonal relationships right now,” he said in that same even tone, even though he felt like shouting. “Serves me well, right? After all, I’m just an antisocial, emotionally stunted, spoiled brat.”

“I didn’t call you antisocial _or_ emotionally stunted,” Percy said, exasperated. “But yes, you’re being a brat right now.”

Nico ignored him, trying to read at least one word on his book.

Percy growled and closed it with one hand, taking away his barrier and putting it behind him. His other hand gently guiding his chin until their eyes met.

Gods. Be. Damned.

“Nico, I’m going back to school in New York,” he said slowly, as if Nico was stupid. “It’s something I decided. Nothing you do can change it.”

“That means you’re leaving me behind,” Nico said as slowly. “I won’t be able to drop by. I’m banned from Shadow Travelling, remember?”

“Nico…”

“I should have expected it, you know?” Nico said. “After all those years, I guess I didn’t live up to expectations.”

Percy seemed so appalled he dropped his hand. Nico looked down.

“You know it’s not like that,” he said gently. “It’s just that I want a normal life, a career, I want to prove I can do this.”

“Percy, we’ll never, _ever_ , be normal,” Nico said, still evading him. “We’re demigods, and no matter if we’re here, in New Rome or in Venice, we can’t run away from what we are.”

“I still want to do this,” Percy sat down beside him, their thighs touching. “I want to be part of the world I protect, and that means having a life in it.”

“Even if it means I won’t be a part of it?” Nico asked.

He had known, deep inside, that this happiness would be temporary. Nothing good happened to the Children of Hades, despite his father’s wishes for the contrary.

Percy took hold of his chin again and kissed him. A goodbye kiss, then. Nico decided to enjoy it.

It was honestly ridiculous how much he had fallen for this man in the span of three weeks, yet here he was.

“You’ll always have a place in my life,” Percy said. “That’s not negotiable.”

“You’re going to be busy, you won’t be able to visit, and I won’t be able to go see you.”

“Nico,” Percy said quietly. “You think I would go back and not have a plan to stay with the person I love?”

Nico gaped; surprised Percy had actually used the word. He tried his best to compose himself.

“And what’s that plan, then?”

“It’s only for a few months.” Percy finally gave him a smile. “We can IM, and once I’m done with school, we’ll rent an apartment, wherever you want. I’ll attend college and do some part-time jobs to keep up with our expenses, and I’ll keep weekends free to spend with you.”

“How… suburban,” Nico said, showing hints of a smile. “What do I do in this plan, stay at home? Take care of the 2.5 children?” he asked, mostly in jest.

“Depends, is the .5 the top or bottom half?” Percy joked back. Nico snorted. “You do whatever you want. Going to college, having a career, that’s my dream, but I want you to have your dream, too.”

“I think… college is not an awful idea… better than High School at any rate… but I would also get a job. I can’t have you taking care of both of us.” Nico allowed himself to rest against Percy. “I’m sorry I said you wanted to get rid of me.”

“I’m sorry I called you a spoiled brat,” he said in turn. “It’s our last day of summer together. I don’t want to spend it fighting.”

They stayed quiet for a while. Nico glanced at the book, finally remembering it was a novelization of Alexander the Great’s early life.

“Hey, Percy,” he said squirming a little and pecking him on the lips. “I love you, too.”

Percy blinked before grinning.

“You were _so_ wrong,” Percy laughed, before using his body weight to pull them both into the bed. “This totally tops any expectation I had!”

* * *

Eros continued staring at the mirror long after the last set of images had disappeared. He found himself smiling, despite himself.

He took an extra moment to compose himself before looking at his mother, who seemed a little mesmerized herself.

“You know, mother? I think this was the right course of events, after all.”

Aphrodite looked at the glass arrows one last time before sighing forlornly and storing them in her desk’s bottom drawer.

“I’m starting to think that too, darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> I have a few regrets with this story. My first few chapters were a little rough and aimless, but I really don't want to go back and rewrite them. I also wanted to give Piper a focus scene, like I did with all the other of the Seven, but I couldn't find a good place for it.
> 
> Anyways, on to some notes about this story, now that it's over. Be warned, they get a little tropey:
> 
> \- **Percy and Nico:** This reversal of feelings came about from my desire to have a pining Percy where it meant something. A lot of pining Percy fanfics make the pining meaningless because Nico is still in love with Percy and Percy too stupid to realize it, so it's frustrating, rather than heart-rending. Here, the pining takes a while to become mutual, so when it happens, the frustration is a welcome change from the sadness of unrequited love.
> 
> \- **Annabeth:** As I've said before. My original plan was to reverse Percy and Nico's positions romantically, but not narratively. In doing that, Nico became Percy's motivation and focus, turning Annabeth into what Nico is in canon, the unrequited suitor. When I realized it, I decided to give her the ending I would have liked to see with Nico in canon: Start the proccess of moving on, while respecting the fact that she was in love with Percy for a lot of the story. Some of you may be seeing some hints of Reynabeth in the future, and to that I say: maybe? I left it ambigous, because, as Reyna said, their hearts must heal by themselves, not by their next love interest.
> 
> \- **Eros and Aphrodite:** I admit, my Eros is too soft, too human, compared to how Riordan depicts Cupid. I tried to explain it away as a difference between Greek and Roman personas, but the truth is that the story needed a more benevolent Love God to contrast Aphrodite's appetite for "a good love story". In the end Aphrodite still wanted the canon pairings, but with a dose of "Wrong Guy First" to spice it up. It was Percy's own genuine feelings and Eros intervention that the story reached a happy ending for Percico. Was it reallty their fate or were those two able to defy it? I'll leave it up to you.
> 
> And that's pretty much it. Thanks to everyone that read this far. I truly enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. As for future fanfics, I have a couple of them in the works, so we'll see. If any of you want to know more, you can come bother me on my [Tumblr](http://doevademe.tumblr.com/). Until next time!


End file.
